Zoo Mythico
by bufffycat
Summary: Mythological Creature Zoos are common place, but in this one in particular the resident shifter is tossed the harpy no one seems to want. Prussia x Canada
1. Birdie

_Two quick comments before anyone gets too far into this:_

_1: This may kinda come off as though I'm against zoos . I'm really not, especially since I'm sure not all zoos do what this fictional one does. If they did, they should be closed down.  
_

_2: Welcome to the weird corner of my mind. And I mean weird. You have been warned.  
_

* * *

Gilbert stretched lazily from where he lay on his back on the ground. The sun was warm and the last of the visitors had left for the day and the evening meal would soon make its way to the enclosures. Gilbert closed his eyes and sighed as he relaxed in the grass.

"Amigo! Have you heard?" A cheerful voice called from the enclosure to the right. Gilbert lifted one heavy eyelid to peer at his Spanish friend. He was sitting in his enclosure up against the fence dividing them, and was smiling widely.

"And what would be the latest gossip, Toni?" Gilbert closed his eyes again. Antonio was always one to keep up on the latest of zoo gossip, although he, himself was never one to keep up with the latest drama between the selkies and mermaids, the newest disputes between the yeren and yeti, or the tales of another failed escape attempt by the resident jenglot. There was no stopping his cheerful neighbor and was encouraged further by the third of their trio who would swoop down with extra insights in the evenings.

"They brought in a new harpy!" Antonio announced, waiting for a reaction equaling his own.

"Harpies are common, Toni. I don't see why you're so excited over it."

Antonio shook his head, the large bull horns on top swaying dangerously back and forth. "Not this one. He was wild and they caught him."

Gilbert opened his eyes again to look at Antonio who was eagerly awaiting a response. A wild harpy was rare these days. Around the same time that it became legal for the mythical creature zoos to exist, they also passed laws that allowed the prostitution of certain species. Harpies were included on that list, and most had flocked to the zoos to turn themselves in. Rather than having to seduce travelers to their lands, they could have willing participants. There were a few rare ones that, unlike the majority of their compatriots, did not have the same wanton spirit.

"So let me get this straight. The humans caught another one of us that was minding their own business, not bothering them much, and dragged them here against their free will to live in this verdammt place, just like a certain awesome individual you know?" Gilbert narrowed his eyes, knowing the answer would just provoke him more. His calm and relaxing evening was already over.

"Exactly!" Antonio practically cheered. Gilbert's grin grew dangerous, now having just the thing to push him over the edge. He rolled over and got to his hands and knees eyeing Antonio with a piercing red gaze. Antonio smiled broadly, still not understanding the situation.

"Exactly." Gilbert repeated. From Antonio's perspective, he was gazing upon the human form of his friend one moment, and upon blinking was now staring down a massive silver wolf that was lunging and snapping at the dividing fence. Antonio quickly jumped up on his hooves and backed away, lowering his horns in warning and glaring at his neighbor.

"Bonsoir mon ami~! My, my, can't even get along while I'm gone." There was the loud beating of wings as their friend landed beside Antonio. One wing he tucked gracefully along his side and the other he placed on his friend's shoulder. Gilbert sighed and shifted back, sitting comfortably on the grass and Antonio's large grin was already back in place.

"Francis, do you have any more news on that new harpy?" Antonio inquired, all memories of the earlier argument seemingly forgotten. Gilbert shook his head at his gossiping friends and leaned back on hands watching them.

"Only that they are looking to get rid of him. Won't come near any one or eat. Last I heard they are going to throw him into someone's pen and let the inhabitant take care of him and have a bit of fun while they're at it." Francis quickly told his friends, preening a few of his bronze feathers while he discussed the impending doom of one of his own kind. Gilbert growled lowly. Humans and their morals about things considered not human enough.

Gilbert listened absent-mindedly to the rest of the gossip Francis brought. The Koschei was causing problems again, terrifying his neighbors, and had to be subdued, and one of the hrimthurs had frozen his companion because he annoyed him. While they were talking, there was loud commotion from the side of Gilbert's enclosure. Assuming that the noise from behind him was the keepers delivering food, he paid no attention to it, until the harpy and minotaur next to him stopped talking and simply stared in that direction. Curious, Gilbert turned himself around so he could also see.

A large metal cage had been rolled up to the door that separated Gilbert from the outside world and people were in the process of shifting gates and doors from the outside. Francis hummed something low in French and Antonio kept looking from the door to his friends in confusion. Gilbert kept an eye on the door and shifted into his wolf form, keeping low to the ground and preparing for whatever his keepers had in store for him. He strategized plans quickly in his mind should they try to take him.

With a final clang, the door separating the smaller cage from the larger one opened and the trio all peered into the dark hole to catch a glimpse of something shifting around inside. That something was pushed out by the keepers and it stumbled and blinked at the sudden bright light, taking a few tentative steps out on shaky claws.

Gilbert remained frozen in his hunched position and watched as the new arrival glanced around the open pen, his large wings wrapped around his torso and even from the distance they could see the he was shaking. The new arrival slowly moved further in, keeping a watchful eye to his surroundings and stretched his wings out as far as they could go, testing them slightly. Gilbert narrowed his eyes further at the jagged edges of the clipped feathers lining the harpy's wings. Humans, he thought bitterly, letting out a low growl.

The harpy's head snapped quickly to the form of the large wolf and began to panic. He furiously beat his wings attempting to lift himself to the uncovered sky just above him but could not get anywhere with his damaged wings. With the exertion and hysteria, he blacked out, falling face first into the mud.

When the creature stilled, Gilbert stood up slowly and padded forward towards the unconscious harpy. He nudged the harpy's shoulder with his nose and when he didn't get a response rolled him onto his back. He gazed down at the form lying on the ground before him. The harpy had blonde hair with a slight wave and a single curl in the front. The hair melded into the golden feathers that trailed from the back of his neck across his shoulders to form his wings. He looks young, Gilbert thought as he watched the male in front of him and considered how pitiful the other looked coated in mud. Gilbert shifted back and carefully picked up the harpy.

A laugh reminded Gilbert of his friends and he looked back at them who were still watching him. Antonio, as cheerful as ever, commented on how great it was Gil would have a new friend to play with and Francis winked at him before taking off to tell the rest of the zoo about where the new harpy had ended up.

Ignoring Antonio, Gilbert carried the limp harpy towards the small cave at the back of his yard. The blonde head lolled and rested on the albino's chest and Gilbert glanced down at the contact, considering what he was going to do to have to care for his extra guest. He walked through the entrance of his simple home and laid the harpy down on his bed. He then turned and began digging through his things, discovering a relatively clean cloth and worked to remove the worst of the mud off and threw one the blankets over the top. With a final glance, Gilbert left to claim the dinner that had surely arrived while he was tending to his new room-mate.

Halfway through his meal, Gilbert heard his companion begin to stir where he had left him. He watched as the harpy's eyes blinked open and looked around his surroundings in confusion. When his gaze found the albino sitting across the room from him, he gasped and shuffled back to the corner searching for an exit.

"Calm down, will ya? I'm not going to hurt you." The words had little effect on the harpy, as he continued to shake nervously where he was. Gilbert sighed, "Hey? Can you even understand what I'm saying?" He waited a moment for a reaction but when he got none decided to try again. "Sprichst du Deutsch?" This time, he thought he noticed a little more confusion at the words. "No? Alright, so you must speak English. Well, I hope you do cause I don't know anything else." Gilbert paused for a moment trying to gauge the others reaction.

"You have a name?" Gilbert tried. He was met with silence and he watched as the harpy showed no intention to move. "I think it would be helpful for me to call you by your name when I talk to you." Still nothing. "I could tell you mine first. I am the awesome Gilbert. I pretty much run things here." He jabbed this thumb towards his chest and grinned although they fell as he still couldn't get the other to react. "Well, if you can't tell me your name, I'm going to have to come up with something for you and I should warn you, people say I'm terrible at picking out names." He sighed again when he was still met with silence. "Alright then. Your choice." Gilbert paused and thought it over. "I know, I'm going to call you Birdie. Do you like that?" He thought he noticed one of the eyebrows on his new friend twitch slightly in irritation, but he may have also imagined it. "I'm going to take that as a yes."

Gilbert looked down at his unfinished meal. "Hey Birdie, you want something to eat?" he called out. He picked up the plate and stood up slowly. The wide violet eyes watched every step Gilbert took as he approached the bed holding out the food. As he neared, the harpy stiffened and tried to draw further away. "Calm down, Birdie. I'll just leave this here and you can take it when you want." He placed the plate down on the edge of the bed and backed towards the entrance. "Look, you can have the bed, I'm going to sleep outside. It's a nice enough night and with fur I won't get too cold. Gute nacht Birdie!" And with that, Gilbert disappeared outside, leaving Birdie alone to cautiously take the food left for him.

Once outside Gilbert shifted and took a moment to gaze around the quiet zoo. A gentle breeze ruffled his thick fur as he stood in the growing darkness. Antonio was nowhere to be seen and had probably gone inside his own place to sleep and the other pens were quiet with the residents all turning in for the night. Choosing a spot near the entrance he turned a few times before settling down. He also studied the sky briefly, although the lack of stars made him depressed and he tucked his nose beneath his tail, shutting his eyes to prepare for sleep.

* * *

_Here's a quick reference to some of the creatures I mentioned:_

_Selkie: From Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland, they look like seals when in water but can shed the skins and walk around on land looking like humans.  
_

_Yeren: Also known as the Chinese Wildman. Kinda like their version of Big Foot.  
_

_Jenglot: This little vampire thing from Indonesia.  
_

_Koschei: A terrifying creature from Russia that cannot be killed because it stores its soul inside a needle hidden inside an egg, a duck, a rabbit, and a chest. If you somehow manage to get to the egg, you can control the thing.  
_

_Hrimthur: Norse ice giants. And yeah they can freeze people.  
_


	2. Word as a Shifter

_I'm stuck in the airport awaiting a flight so may as well finish and post this, yeah? I've never completed anything with chapters before so I would love some reviews to let me know what you think :)_

* * *

The sun had already risen by the time Gilbert opened his eyes. With a large yawn he stood and stretched out his stiff limbs. It had been a long time since he had slept on the ground he recalled and still stifling yawns shifted back and made his way inside to check on his friend.

Birdie was in the same place he was the night before, the only difference was that his eyes were closed. The plate was where he had left it on the corner of the bed and from what he could tell, it had barely been touched. Quietly as he could manage he reclaimed the plate, but looking up from it met the violet eyes that watched his every move. "Uh… Guten morgen Birdie! Did you sleep well?" The harpy blinked in response. "Well, I'm going to go get breakfast for us, so don't move." Laughing at his own joke, Gilbert took the plate and others from the day before outside.

Crossing the yard towards the gate, Gilbert took in the usual morning activities: keepers shuffling around taking care of their various charges, maintenance and grounds humans preparing the park for visitors and the daily rituals of those who lived behind the fences. Apparently Antonio was having a good morning, as the neighbor could be heard singing Spanish songs rather loudly. Gilbert leaned against the gate watching the happy minotaur prance about his enclosure while waiting for his keeper to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long before the sound of the motorized cart that pulled the wagon of food neared and the human responsible for him hopped off exchanging the usual morning pleasantries while searching for Gilbert's food.

"You didn't like your dinner?" the human commented, eyeing the half-finished meal.

Gilbert snorted. "The food's fine as far as I'm concerned, but you people dumped a room-mate on me and I was trying to share. Any way you can get me some for him? I don't think he likes what I get."

The human raised his hands up in defense. "The decision was made by the higher-ups, not me. If it was up to me I wouldn't have chosen his fate." Gilbert rolled his eyes and the human brought breakfast up to the small window in the gate. "I can try to find him something, but he didn't seem too interested in what the other harpies were given from what I hear. Then again, I really don't know much about them. They're not my department. Just those of you considered more ferocious."

Without turning, Gilbert pointed over his shoulder to Antonio's yard where the minotaur was still singing and leaping around. "Ja, because that over there is ferocious."

"Yeah, well, he can be." The human argued, but gave up and laughing. "I'm off for now unless you need anything else. I'll be back for lunch."

Gilbert grunted in response and returned to his home to eat his meal in peace before visitors arrived. Birdie had listened to him and not moved, and Gilbert sat down at the small table he had to quickly eat. Birdie remained silent and the two watched each other while Gilbert ate half of his meal. It really wasn't enough to satisfy him, but enough to quiet the hunger for now.

He could hear the starts of announcements and the zoo opened for the day and realized how late it had gotten. They preferred if Gilbert spent most of the day outdoors when there were visitors and so he dropped what was left of his food and began to rush around his small room. The harpy on the bed simply watched as Gilbert searched for a cleaner shirt and tried to figure where his toothbrush was last put down. Slowing down slightly, Gilbert cast one last look to his companion. "You're free to use anything in here. I'll be outside. Doubt you will want to go out with all the visitors around. I'll bring lunch when it's here. Tschüß!" Gilbert raised a hand and made an entrance outside to appear to all his fans.

The morning was fairly slow with only a handful of visitors making it far enough into the park to see him. Mornings usually were. Everyone was more excited to go see the dragon than him and he huffed a little at the lack of attention. Still, he found a comfortable piece of grass to nap in and curled up in his wolf form to pass the time quicker.

Lunch arrived in the middle of the day and his keeper, true to his word, had brought a second dish for Birdie. He carried both into his room and put his down on the small table that was one of the few furnishings. From the outside, the room looked like a small cave built into a rock face, but on the inside it mimicked a human home. He had a small table and chair, a small set of drawers, a sink and toilet, and a bed in the corner where there still perched his golden harpy.

Gilbert started to worry that Birdie was going to get stiff from continually sitting in the same position until he noticed a down feather further across the room. He couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face and moved to place the food on the edge of the bed for the other. "Good to know you left that spot, Birdie." Birdie's eyes widened a fraction at the statement and light violet orbs showed confusion. Gilbert walked back to his meal, pausing to pick up the feather on the floor. He held it up, examining it and watching out of the corner his eye as the harpy grimaced slightly.

"Don't be so upset, Birdie." The shifter placed the feather on the table and quickly ate his meal. "It's good for you to move around some. And I already told you, you are free to use anything in here." Gilbert wasn't sure if anything was getting through to the creature, finishing quickly and leaving once again.

He had no sooner stepped outside then his sensitive hearing picked up on a group heading in his direction. Finally, visitors to recognize the awesome shifter for who he was. His kind was rare to see in zoos as it was. He decided to stroll towards the visitors' edge of the fence. Listening further, he determined it was a school group complete with tired chaperones. Time for the awesome show to begin.

The group approached the wall that separated them from Gilbert's fence, and the excited children leaned against it studying the entire enclosure including the albino that was simply meandering around nearby. He didn't pay them any mind and was studying something on the ground. Finally one of the kids asked loudly, "Why is there a human in there?"

"Why don't you read the sign?" the exhausted teacher said, trying to help one of the others search for something in their backpack and answering the two other questions the poor woman had been asked at the same time. The children pushed around the plaque stuck to the wall and half a dozen of them started trying to read out what it said. Gilbert knew what it said by heart: on the children's version it would say he as a canid shifter found in the forests of East Germany. There was an adult one further along that stated the human term for what he was in fancy latin terminology: _Lupis humanamutare_. He would love to find the human that gave him that mouthful of a name.

"It says he changes into a wolf, but he isn't right now." Gilbert pretended not to hear, instead busying himself with something else that was closer to the fence. The woman sighed, "I'm sorry, but if he might not be able to. Maybe he's sick." Gilbert twitched. No way had she said that. He gauged the distance between him and the fence while still focusing on something else. In one fluid motion, Gilbert spun and leapt, landing on four paws and let out a lard bark, his nose almost brushing against the wire fencing. The terrified scream of that woman pleased him and he laughed, a loud barking sort of laugh, and made a quick victory lap while the children watched in awe.

Slowing down towards one end he caught the laughter of his neighbor. The bright green eyes sparkled with amusement as he called out, "You are cruel, amigo!" Gilbert barked in response and turned back to find something else to entertain him. He glanced towards the back of the yard, and thought he saw a flicker of movement in the shadows of his room.

The rest of the afternoon was much of the same. Gilbert alternated between naps and proving how awesome he was to visitors. The real problem was how boring everything could be. He saw the same fenced walls that contained him and the yard that rarely changed. There were a few trees scattered around and on hot days he would sit in their shadow panting heavily. The colder days didn't affect him much, but he would watch his neighbor from a warmer climate struggle to handle the chills.

With the close of another day Gilbert rested along the fence and idly chatted with Antonio. The minotaur had seemly forgotten about the exciting happenings of the day before and Gilbert didn't bring up Birdie as they sat together. It wasn't long before the flapping of wings and greetings in French announced the arrival of their third friend. Francis landed swiftly and quickly handed something to Antonio before flying over the fence to give another to Gilbert. The shifter looked down at what had been pressed into his hands, finding a bottle of beer.

"Where did you get this?" Gilbert said, quickly breaking into it and savoring the rare taste.

Francis winked, using the fingers at the ends of his wings to open his own. "I have my ways."

"So you stole it." The bronze harpy merely smiled in response.

"Francis! What's the news?" Antonio called from over the fence.

The latest of news of their zoo was that a vitter had escaped from his enclosure into his neighboring one. Once there, he had become fond of the näkki that was already in there, staying close by and becoming protective when attempts were made to separate the two. Everything had to put on hold when a larger problem arose elsewhere. A child had dropped ice cream into the argopelter pen and the already hyper creature had managed to eat it and was now haphazardly throwing branches and causing large amounts of damage.

Antonio nodded as he listened, taking everything in. After relaying everything, Francis turned back to Gilbert with a glint in his eye. "And how was the rest of your evening yesterday?" He added a wink to the statement that went over Antonio's head and Gilbert frowned.

"He doesn't talk. I slept outside."

"That's it?" Francis asked in shock. "Mon ami, you can't let an opportunity like this go. He may not be as good as me, but as a harpy he's bound to please you in ways you've never known. However, you would have known had you just accepted my offer at any point. It's always available to you~." Francis purred, brushing his fingers along Gilbert's jaw line, a few of the feathers tickling his skin.

"Francis, you sleep with more people in a week than I ever will in a lifetime. You're probably carrying diseases.'

Francis pouted and withdrew his hand, the feathers along his shoulders and wings ruffling in irritation. Antonio was quick to join in to the conversation, offering to spend time with Francis since Gilbert refused. The harpy smiled happily, fluttering over the fence and cooing his thanks. Gilbert snorted at the display.

"Toni, do you even understand what we were talking about?"

The minotaur shrugged. "I know enough."

Gilbert watched as the pair walked away, Francis wrapped a wing around Antonio's shoulders and was leaning against him, whispering something into his ear. Frustrated, Gilbert left in the opposite direction, collected two plates of dinner and marched inside his own home. Birdie seemed to sense his annoyance, and trembled slightly at Gilbert's arrival. Feeling a bit guilty at further scaring an already terrified creature, he tried to breathe deeply and calm himself before offering out dinner to the harpy on his bed and replacing the hardly touched plate from lunch.

Sitting down at his table with his plate and starting in he glanced back over to the bed. Birdie hadn't moved to get his food and they stared at each other for a full minute before Gilbert groaned in frustration. "Look, the silence is killing me. I'm going to have to talk, and even if you are not going to answer me, that's fine. We're both locked in this pen together and we may as well get used to it since you can't fly away yet and they seem to think that by putting you in here I'll eat you." Birdie's eyes widened at bit. "Wait, that doesn't mean I will. And I'm assuming that if they decide to take you back they're just going to throw you in with something that will actually eat you. I don't. They just assume that I do. Really." Well Gilbert, he thought to himself, way to inspire confidence.

Gilbert rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll give you my word as a shifter that I will not eat you."

Birdie seemed unsure and Gilbert sighed. "Have you never met a shifter before?" Birdie gave a slight shake of his head to indicate he hadn't. "Alright, short version is that if we give our word we are honor bound to keep it." Gilbert shrugged. "It's how our shifter society works."

His words must have held some comfort, as the harpy relaxed a miniscule amount, the knuckles of his fingers returning to a normal color where they had been pressed against his knees. Gilbert returned to his own food, "Now that we got that out-of-the-way, could you eat all of your dinner? I'm sure you want to get out of this place, and if I were like you and able to escape then I would. And to get out of here you're going to need your strength and it's not gourmet here, but it's at least descent."

The harpy seemed to consider this, and while keeping a close eye on Gilbert carefully uncurled from his place and pulled the plate closer examining what had been put on it. "Better." Gilbert approved, finishing what was left of his meal. "I'll leave you again for the evening, Birdie. Guten nacht." He nodded towards his harpy and stepped outside.

Finding the familiar patch of grass from the night before, Gilbert settled himself down for the evening. He hoped he was making progress with Birdie. The harpy needed to escape this place. Time would fix the clipped wings and Gilbert could once again say he was able to fulfill his guardian role. The silver wolf rested his head on his paws in thought. Far off, he could make out the laughter of the argopelter and the shouts of the men trying to contain it. It seemed it was going to be a long night.

* * *

_Reference for Francis's creature gossip:_

_Vitter: From Northern Sweeden. They are invisible spirits most of the time and tend to live underground and keep cattle. They will leave humans alone, but when angered can be dangerous, generally causing "accidents" to harm/kill you. They say that people have been known to abandon homes or put detours on roads to avoid an area a Vitter has claimed._

_Näkki: Finnish water spirit that lives in any amount of water from puddles to rivers. They have human forms and can rise out of the water. Some legends say they join in dancing in midsummer festivals. Can also pull in and drown small children that are trying to look at their reflections._

_Argopelter: American creature lives in the trees of northern forests. They move around very quickly and can be difficult to see, but they like to break off bits of trees and throw them at intruders and they are thrown fast enough it would feel like you were shot if they hit you._


	3. Rain

Something tugged at Gilbert's consciousness and he lazily dragged a paw across his muzzle, intent on not being woken. Something touched his ear and he flicked it. The motion made him stir and he opened his bleary red eyes to look around. It was still dark and there was no indication of what had woken him. Gilbert dropped his head back down, letting out a long sigh, easing himself back into slumber. Several droplets of water hit his head before he had completely dozed off, and Gilbert curled tighter to escape them, determined to sleep. That was his mistake.

Suddenly, as though the skies had broken apart for Mother Nature to unleash her wrath, it began to rain heavily quickly soaking Gilbert's silver fur. He leapt up, stumbling slightly from still being partly asleep and raced for his room. He crashed through the entrance, panting heavily and waking the harpy asleep on the bed. Birdie sat up quickly, looking worriedly around but only finding a dripping Gilbert. The shifter shook, spraying water around the room and Birdie held his blanket up to block the shower of water droplets.

"Sorry to wake you, Birdie." Gilbert stood and searched around for a towel. Birdie dropped the blanket he was using for cover and watched the shifter as he found what he was looking for in amongst the piles of things stacked around the room. Gilbert rubbed the towel over his head a few times, and then wrapped it around his shoulders and settling on the floor. He leaned back against the wall opposite the bed and shut his eyes feeling the lack of sleep taking hold again. "Mind if I crash in here tonight? The rain's pretty un-awesome…"

Birdie shrugged slightly, however it was missed as Gilbert's breathing evened out. Birdie studied the gentle rising and falling of the shifter's chest to convince himself that the other was indeed asleep before settling down beneath his own blanket.

It was still a dark grey outside when Gilbert awoke for the second time. The rain was still coming down heavily and would assure few visitors would be stopping by that day, meaning Gilbert would be free to stay indoors. The albino yawned, stretching his arms above his head and looked to his roommate who similarly yawned and stretched. Birdie sat up, blinking slowly, violet eyes still a little hazy with sleep. It had been a few days since the harpy's arrival and Birdie seemed to become more accustomed to living with the shifter and had relaxed out of his curled position on the bed. He still refused to speak, but Gilbert felt progress was being made.

There had been slight problem with finding suitable clothing for the harpy. Although Gilbert did have items to loan, none of them were made to accommodate large wings in place of arms and Birdie arrived with only what he had. It took some work, but Gilbert had managed to convince Francis to find something. The bargaining began with Gilbert's opening demand and had followed by Francis' counteroffer of owing a favor. What followed was Gilbert's low growling and Francis running his feathered hands along the shifter's torso while terms of the agreement were set, and the bronze harpy flew away grumbling in French. He returned a short time later and indignantly thrust the articles at the albino and flew over the fence to join Antonio.

Gilbert watched the rain as it fell. More specifically, he watched in the general direction of where the food cart would arrive. There was a slight chill from the heavy rain and Gilbert crossed his arms in an attempt to fight the shiver that threatened to overtake him. He tilted his head to his harpy companion sitting comfortably on his bed. "Are you warm enough Birdie?" The harpy gave a slight nod, watching Gilbert intently with his violet eyes. Gilbert glanced back outside, looking for the cart and moving his hands over his arms, feeling the raised bumps along the exposed skin. "Don't mind the cold much?" He looked back towards the blonde with the curious expression. The harpy shook his head lightly, continuing to watch the shifter, his large eyes meeting Gilbert's briefly. Gilbert closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Not that I am bothered by the cold either, but I'm going to wear more for when I have to go out in the rain to get breakfast." The harpy raised an eyebrow as Gilbert found something to his liking and tugged it over his head.

"Ah, he's finally here!" Gilbert grabbed the dishes from the day before and ran through the rain towards the gate. He didn't wait to chat with the human today, practically throwing the dishes through the window and snatching up the new plates before they had barely touched the ledge. The human shouted something that Gilbert promptly ignored, racing back for his dry room with heat and his harpy. He stumbled inside, taking a moment to catch his breath, and then grinned triumphantly at Birdie. "Breakfast is served by the awesome me!" As had become routine, Birdie's plate was placed on the corner of the bed for the harpy to retrieve once the albino was a safe distance away, and the shifter took his place at his table.

When Gilbert started chuckling, Birdie stared trying to find what was so funny. "Toni hates the cold and the rain. I can never understand the Spanish he says on days like these, but I always assume it's his version of cursing." Birdie tilted his head trying to listen as well, but heard nothing beyond the rhythmic drumming of the rain outside, eventually giving up and returning to his own plate.

Feeling full and content, Gilbert stretched out on his back on the floor. It was as close to his bed as he was going to get for a while still and he couldn't just push his guest off it. There was hardly anything to do and the silence was beginning to make him go mad. He tilted his head, meeting the violet gaze, and asked "Have you only ever heard rumors of the shifters?" Birdie nodded, adjusting his place so he could give more attention to the shifter. Gilbert grinned, letting his head rest on the floor and closing his eyes for moment.

"I suppose you've heard how there are four major families within the shifters?" Gilbert opened one eye to see Birdie nod his head. "Where I'm from they go by the names Hunde, Katzen, Bären, and Vögel. I'm sure you've heard something different." Gilbert sat up to continue.

"Hundes are the most awesome of the three since I am one. We are known for our ambition and loyalty. Stories abound of our drive to rescue hapless creatures from treacherous situations, whether it is someone trapped on a snow-covered mountain to facing a human hunting party. We are strong and able to run miles without stopping. In a single word, awesome. Am I right?" Birdie nodded in agreement and to encourage Gilbert to continue.

"Katzen are the independent ones. Rarely seen, and often alone. They are renowned for their abilities of stealth and cunning. How do their stories go? They sneak into camps to free captured creatures and use their wits to out-smart humans and avoid detection and capture. There is no place they couldn't figure out how to get into and out of. They can fight, and can be worthy opponents, but they avoid it until they have no other option. Not very direct though and probably takes forever to get anything done. Not my style." Gilbert gave a shrug.

"Bären are the said to be the wisest of the four as well as the strongest. They think and plan before the act so much so that they are the best of tacticians. They can command and direct armies and lead the charge. The stories about them tend to highlight that they are majorly bi-polar though; often going from calm to raging beasts because something has gotten them worked up.

"Vögel tend to be the beautiful messengers of the shifters. They are the fastest of them all and are quick to appear to others to warn them of danger. They care deeply about their appearance and are often envied by creatures for their radiance. These sound familiar to where you're from?" The harpy nodded, his attention captured in hopes of learning more.

"Right, so I'm sure half of what you've heard is true, and the other half was probably exaggerated, but seeing as you haven't met any of the others let me tell you something about them that very few ever really know." Birdie leaned closer, interest outweighing any of his fears. "The Katzen, Vögel and Bären? They are out of their gott verdamnt minds." Birdie looked at the shifter in shock.

"Bären? Sure they are wise and calm and whatever other scheiße that gets said about them. Half of the time they are asleep. Then they wake up, take a look around, say something that makes everyone think they are profound and then go back to sleep and forget they even said it in the first place. And rage doesn't even begin to cover how grumpy they get when you do something they don't like. Like accidentally walking into a room and talking too loudly. They were always yelling at me for that sort of stuff, though I don't see why." Birdie shook his head softly at how oblivious Gilbert could be at times.

"Vögel will carry mirrors with them just so they can check out their own reflections. And by check out, I mean will stop everything to admire themselves and talk to their own reflections. And let's not even get started on what happens if they get near anything dirty.

"Katzen though are the strictest of rule followers. And they walk so quietly that they will literally scare the pisse out of you when they suddenly appear behind you and ask in some creepy voice what it is you think you're doing. And then when you go to defend yourself they're gone again. They're like shadows that see everything you do and disapprove of it, no matter what it is. Have no understanding of fun whatsoever. This is, of course, why Hundes are the best. We know how to kick back and have a good time." He grinned broadly at the harpy, feelings of pride evident.

Birdie looked away, but the very corners of his mouth turned up to form a small smile. When he turned back, Gilbert caught a glimmer of amusement in the violet eyes as they studied each other, gazes lingering as the minutes crept by. Realizing what was happening, Gilbert looked away, breaking the connection and coughing awkwardly. "How about I get us lunch and then I'll tell you more of my awesome stories with having to deal with those other shifters?" He looked back to the harpy, the smile gone from Birdie's face, but his features somehow warmer than they had been since they met. The harpy nodded in agreement and Gilbert took his leave, deciding that standing outside in the rain would make him regain his senses and act rationally again.

Over lunch Gilbert couldn't get Birdie's smile out his head. It was the first he had seen one and the way it lit the other's face… Gilbert shook his head, thinking over what he could tell the harpy to get him to smile again.

"Alright, I've got a tale for you." Gilbert shoveled the last bit of food into his mouth and started trying to speak around it. "This happened a while back. You know, sometimes we shifters will get together for meetings for…" There was a pause as the albino thought. "…discussing shifter things. It's really not important what it is. Just know that is always boring and complicated and you should be glad you have never had to attend."

Birdie forgot about his meal as he watched the shifter talk animatedly. Few would ever have such insight to the shifters. "So here I was, getting the summons to some lame arsch meeting and had to be practically dragged there un-awesomely by the pack leader. Would have rather been at home than sitting around a room listening to them talk out their problems. Just boring talking, no action. But they of course need me because I'm one of the best shifters you will ever meet, so I had to attend." Gilbert grinned widely at his own compliments.

"So there I was, attending the meeting. I walk in, and all eyes fall on me and they all quiet with the reverence that I deserve. A dozen run up and unroll a carpet at my feet for me and my entourage of ladies to walk down. Wind comes from out of nowhere to make the silver-white cape I'm wearing billow out behind me so I am the picture of awesome. I walk to my seat and half of those losers in the room fall over from just being near me. When I get to my seat, I stop and look at all of them just to see the envy in their eyes. I then pull out the biggest sword that has ever existed and tell them all 'I will lead us all to victory!'"

Gilbert paused his story telling, hand held above his head grasping his imaginary sword to look down at the harpy. Birdie gave him a flat look. "Ok, so maybe it didn't happen exactly like that, but let me just continue." Birdie gave a nod.

"Right, so this meeting was going and I was distracted and not caring about what was going on. And to make it worse I'm sitting next to this Asian Bären that's sleeping with her head on the table. Think I'd met her before too. She looked more like a panda if I remember right. And then on the other side of me was this sickeningly sweet Hunde couple. Really Birdie, just watching them would have made you gag. And across from us there were this group of Katzens that were rather worked up and angry over some trip they'd made recently to their southern borders. I never really understand what's going on with them.

"So this panda Bären is so deeply asleep and I cannot find anything else to do since watching the pair next to me hold hands and giggle was making me sick and I couldn't take the glares from the Katzens so I decided to see what I could do to this Bären before she could wake up. And of course as soon as I thought of it, I couldn't back down because it was a challenge.

"I started by stealing the pens, folders and papers out from underneath the sleeping Bären. There were a few times I literally had to lift her arm to get things out from underneath her and once I had to move her head. The most she did was grumble something in her sleep when I dropped her head back on the table." Birdie stared at the shifter, disbelief that he could be so juvenile.

"So that got old, since I'd stolen everything and she was still sleeping. And with nothing else to take, I started piling her things on top of her instead. I was going to see how big of a stack I could get and ignored some of the looks I was getting from everyone else. There were even a few that started passing me things to add to the pile since our meeting was that lame. This French Vögel was the most helpful although his building sense was terrible, so I kept ignoring his advice for how to stack things.

"I had a pretty good stack going when the Hunde sitting next to me said something like 'Gilbert would be the one to get bored and start something. It is what he's good at.' And her boyfriend was trying to hush her with 'Please Hana-chan.' And there was this Nordic Vögel that was trying to take over the meeting. So pretty much, this meeting was a bust since no one was paying attention anymore and everyone started arguing with each other.

"I was distracted and was arguing with everyone and we were all getting loud, forgetting about this Bären with all the stuff on top of her. Really, you couldn't see her anymore Birdie, she had so much stuff on top of her. I ended up getting into a fight with a Katzen that I would have won except we accidentally knocked into the sleeping Bären and she woke up with a snort. Seconds before we were all shouting and when that happened we all froze in silence. When I say Bären can be bi-polar, I mean it. So half the room was freaking out right then because if she was angry enough that Bären could take half of the walls down with just her fists.

"She stands up and all of these papers and cups fall off her onto the floor and the table. She doesn't pay any attention to them, looks around the room and says 'We are not accomplishing anything, aru. Let's break for lunch.' Then turns and walks out the door with pens and paper clips still stuck in her hair!" Gilbert laughed at the memory that was, in actuality, funnier inside his own mind. When he paused to catch his breath, he caught a quiet chuckle that could have only come from the only other person in the room.

"Birdie, I'm going to spend the rest of today getting you to laugh again. I'm hilarious so it shouldn't be that hard." Birdie looked away, his face flushing slightly. Gilbert grinned and launched into another tale and filled the rest of the afternoon with stories of his endeavors. Neither noticed that later into the evening, after the sun had set, that the rain had stopped and when it was late, Gilbert sank to the floor near the door, wishing good night to his softly giggling harpy.

* * *

_AN: Translations! Since I forgot to add them to the end of the last two chapters, here's my recap so far:_

_Bonsoir is good evening in French_

_Sprichst du Deutsch? is an informal way of saying 'Do you speak German?" since Prussia has never seemed one to say anything in formal German to me.  
_

_Gute nacht is German for Good Night.  
_

_Guten morgen is Good Morning.  
_

___Lupis humanamutare is three Latin words pushed together: Lupis is Wolf/wolves, Humana is Human, and Mutare is Change._  


___For the rest of things I haven't translated, they are most likely German curse words. Let me know if I have forgotten any that need translating._

___And shifter names?  
_

___They are all German words: Hunde = Canine, Katzen = Feline, Vögel = Avian, and Bären = Bear. I wasn't going to include the ____Vögels but that would have meant leaving out the Nordic one and I eventually caved._  


___Sorry for no French gossip on the other creatures at the zoo in this chapter, but they will be back! I doubt Francis would really want to fly around in the rain though._


	4. Escape

The storm had knocked down several tree limbs inside of his enclosure and Gilbert was spending the morning clearing them from his yard. His keepers didn't seem to mind who accomplished it so long as it was done which had led to his agreement with them: if the space looked orderly, no one would attempt to enter. As such, the shifter's yard would often be one of the best kept.

With the sun rising steadily, the wet earth was beginning to dry though it would still give way when stepped on. Gilbert watched his footing as he carried another branch towards his gate and the small pile he had formed. This morning he was only going through the motions of setting his enclosure right, his mind occupied on something, or shall we say someone, else.

With the exception of Francis, Gilbert had not known any harpies before Birdie. He knew of several shifters who were close with harpies, but they never compared notes. Only stories when they had met up to spend time together. The times when they sat around with a beer or two, venting about various things he did not always recall afterwards. Those times he didn't worry about the races he was never in contact with.

Gilbert's sensitive hearing caught a small chirp that brought him out of his musings. Birdie was the threshold of their shared room, blinking and wincing from the sun he hadn't seen in days. "Guten Morgen." Gilbert offered a half wave as he called to the harpy. "Just me out here. Picking things up."

Birdie glanced around, as though still unsure, before stepping outside. He stopped a few strides away and sunk the talons of his feet into the mud and wiggling them around a little. The blonde smiled softly at the feeling, and Gilbert smiled while he finished clearing away the debris.

"Hola! ¿Como te llamas?"

Birdie froze, eyes wide in fear as they looked towards the cheerful minotaur. Antonio waved from his side of the fence and Gilbert glanced between the two.

"It's alright. Birdie, this is Antonio. He lives next door. Won't remember anything you tell him tomorrow." Gilbert turned back to the minotaur. "Toni, this is Birdie." Introductions complete, he collapsed on the grass next to the fence.

"Gilbert, why are you so cruel to me?" Antonio smiled pleasantly. "It's nice to meet you. I hope you are enjoying your time here!"

Gilbert snorted though Antonio didn't catch it. "Would you like to come join us, Birdie? You can just sit wherever."

Birdie thought it over, eventually coming to the decision that it would be alright and chose a place on the other side of Gilbert still a fair distance away from the shifter. He watched Antonio warily, hoping that this wasn't one of the harpy-eating creatures he could eventually be fed to.

"The fence is electrified; he won't be coming through it after you." Birdie met Gilbert's gaze and turned back to the minotaur who nodded to confirm.

"Si, and it was needed when this guy first arrived." Birdie tilted his head looking between the two, silently asking what they meant.

"I was a little out of control when I first arrived…"

"A little? Amigo, me and Francis were placing bets on how long it would take before you died from the amount of volts you took." Antonio's green eyes sparkled. "I had one week."

"Dare I ask how long Francis said I'd last?"

"I believe he gave you three days."

"Three?"

Antonio laughed. "Si, but I believed in you amigo. I knew you would last longer."

"By only a few days." Gilbert looked at Birdie incredulously. "Do you see what I put up with?" Birdie nodded sympathetically, a small smile brightening his features. The shifter collapsed backwards on the grass, watching the sky. "Those were different times."

"I find I like the calm. It was hard to do anything then with the amount of noise you made."

"I was trying all options to escape." Gilbert rolled to look at the harpy, his face serious. "All of this fencing has a current running through it strong enough to make your hair stand up straight and make you twitch for a few hours. The only place it doesn't is that door over there." Gilbert pointed towards the gate. "That door, however, has enough locks and layers of steel to it to that it won't move. If you somehow managed to find a way up the fence there is razor wire at the top. They make it look nice so you really don't notice it's there. And lastly, you could try digging underneath the fence, but the fence runs deep and the humans here get unhappy if you start digging up their yard." Gilbert looked away, though it didn't little to hide the bitterness he felt. "And that it is how a human keeps someone as awesome as me in this place."

Birdie studied the shifter, and then his eyes roamed the expanse of fencing, the heavy door. His eyes moved up to the uncovered sky beyond the reach of the golden harpy and he sighed quietly.

"They don't mind the harpies flying from place to place. They know they won't leave. You will be able to fly out of this pen without any problems." Birdie studied Gilbert, finding that he meant those words and took comfort that the shifter did have his well-being in mind.

"You should come visit me! I always love visits. And Francis is the only one who ever does."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Yes, Toni. Birdie's first stop when he is finally able to fly again will be to your yard to spend time with you."

"You really mean that?"

Luckily, Antonio was spared the reply with the arrival of their morning meal. Gilbert waved farewell to the minotaur and headed towards the gate to collect the food. Behind him, he could hear the rustle of feathers signaling Birdie's movement that trailed behind him as he walked across his yard. The keeper was already at the gate when duo arrived. Gilbert approached the gate while Birdie hung back, nervous.

The keeper stared at the harpy while he handed Gilbert the plate. "He's still here? And doesn't look like how he did when he arrived?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes. What was with everyone today? "Yes, where else was he going to go?"

"Well…" The keeper looked away, slightly embarrassed. "They figured you would eat him."

Birdie shifted uncomfortably, throwing glances back towards the relative safety of the room and hoping that was enough of a hint for Gilbert. The shifter sighed as he stepped away from the gate. "Feathers don't digest well. Besides, it's nice to have someone around."

"Uh… Right…" The keeper replied, watching as Gilbert led the harpy back across the space. He would have stayed longer, had he not been interrupted by Antonio calling him, asking for his own meal. "I'm coming Toni!" The keeper shouted to the minotaur, taking one last look at the retreating figures in the pen he stood beside, he left them to finish his morning rounds.

When Gilbert stepped inside he placed Birdie's plate down on the bed where he usually put it and moved away to get to the table, leaving enough space for Birdie to shuffle around the shifter and get to the bed to claim his meal. Once finished, Gilbert studied the harpy carefully. "Are you planning on spending the day outside?" Birdie seemed to think this over until the shifter added, "The days after it rains tend to have the most visitors." The harpy shook his head, the blonde hair whipping back and forth. Gilbert nodded in understanding. "Sure thing, Birdie. Leave the entertaining to the awesome me!"

* * *

"Ah! I am late!" Francis swooped down on the pair resting quietly by the fence.

"No hurry, Francis. We're not going anywhere." Gilbert yawned, looking at the harpy that joined them. "What happened to you?"

Francis glared angrily at his torn clothing and the scratch on his belly. "I paid a visit to my old friend."

"Gott, Francis. The two of you fought again?"

"It cannot be helped." Francis gingerly sat on the grass next to Gilbert. "That brownie has some serious abandonment issues. He's still sore that his family left him behind for America."

"I do not like that brownie…" Two sets of eyes looked at their friend through the fence. Antonio's normally cheerful grin was replaced by a grim frown and his usually bright green eyes had a darker hue to them.

Francis and Gilbert shared a look. "Toni~" Francis cooed at the other. "We are old friends, and arrived at this zoo around the same time. I couldn't just stop spending time with him, non?"

"Besides," Gilbert continued, "Francis spends more time with you because he likes you better." Francis gave Gilbert a questioning look.

"Oh, okay!" Antonio brightened, all remnants of the darker aura fading quickly. Gilbert and Francis sat back feeling relieved. "Francis, what is the gossip today?"

Francis smiled. "There is quite the mess going on over by kashchey. It would seem that the two in the neighboring enclosure want to be moved."

"Don't we all wish we could move farther away from him?" Gilbert said, eyeing the bronze harpy.

Francis shook his head. "Non. Although the berehynia wants to move away, the rusalka wants in with him."

There was silence from the two as they attempted to understand. "She wants to live in the same pen as him?" Antonio asked.

"Oui."

"She has met him before, right?" Gilbert asked. Francis nodded and Gilbert shuddered slightly at the thought.

"Apparently she believes that he is her lover." Francis added. This earned him several moments of stunned silence.

"¡No jodes!"

"What he said!"

Francis chuckled, amused that he had delivered this tidbit of information. Gilbert was the first to emerge from the shock to ask "What does he think of this?"

"No one knows." Francis hummed. "He's apparently locked himself inside his room and has yet to reappear and of course no one wants to go in and check on him."

Gilbert shook his head and Antonio seemed to be filing this information away in his head for later use. "Oh, Francis!" The harpy looked to the minotaur. "Gilbert's friend was here earlier."

"Oh?" Francis looked to Gilbert. "The petite harpie d'or showed himself?"

"Si. He seemed cute." Antonio's tail flicked while he thought. "What did you call him Gilbert?"

Gilbert's crimson gaze glanced at Francis. "Birdie."

Francis sniffed, clearly not amused at the nickname. "Francis, you should have been here to meet him. I think you would have liked him."

"Of course, mon ami. He is like me, non? I would approve of him."

"And, how awesome it is to spend time with the two of you I think I'm going to go eat my dinner now." Gilbert stood and held a hand in farewell to his friends. "Tschüs."

Francis hummed. "Au revoir. Enjoy your date."

Gilbert flinched and turned back to the bronze harpy. "It's not a date." He growled.

"All the same." Francis beat his wings a few times to send him over the fence to join Antonio. Once safely out of reach, he winked at Gilbert, laughing. The albino frowned at his friend and stalked away.

Birdie was sitting comfortably on the edge of the bed, his own meal in hand, when Gilbert entered. The shifter looked over the calm harpy, studied the way his blonde hair framed his face and the light violet eyes that shone, how the gold feathers merged with his hair, complimenting the color. He wondered how they felt, if they were soft like how Francis's were.

Wait, what was he thinking? Gilbert stared at the plate in front of him, willing the thoughts to go away. He was a shifter and this harpy was only a temporary guest. Attractive as he may be, it would not work. At least he was something good to look at, Gilbert allowed his eyes to sneak a look at the harpy, though they found that they harpy was watching him. Refocusing back on his food, Gilbert shoveled what was left into his mouth and stretched.

"Well, Birdie. I think it's about time to turn in. What do you think?" Gilbert stood and headed towards the door. "Since it's not raining, I'll just go back outside I think…"

A small chirp stopped him, and he looked over his shoulder at the harpy that shook his head and looked away. Gilbert thought for a moment, translating what the motion could mean and tentatively asked "Or, I could sleep in here…?"

Birdie nodded, motioning with his eyes to the place where Gilbert had spent the night previously. Gilbert understood and curled up in the same spot, resting his head on his paws and uttering a low bark of 'good night' which Birdie returned with a nod.

* * *

_Francis's Creature Explanation:_

_Brownies: Household creatures that usually help out with chores and things. Generally go unseen by the family they live with, and tend to get very attached to them (usually moving with the family when they move). However, something must have happened between this one and his family to make him this irritable. I went back and forth as to whether or not this would fit him. I don't know if I'm still entirely convinced or not._

_Berehynias and Rusalkas: Both are Slavic and relatively similar. They are often feminine spirit/mermaid/demon things that live along riverbanks. There is, however, one major difference between them. Berehynias are the kinder version, more likely to do good and have become the symbol of Ukraine. Rusalkas are the evil ones, as they prowl around looking for unmarried men to lure to their deaths. Poor Kashchey…_

_Kashchey: I mentioned him in the first chapter but just a reminder, he's also Slavic, and is immortal because he stores his soul inside a pin inside an egg, hare, duck, and chest._

_"¡No jodes!": something one says when told something shocking. Thanks to Kiri-Kay for helping me out with that one! :)  
_

_Petite harpie d'or: Little Gold Harpy. But my French is terrible so if this wrong don't say this to anyone. Actually, if this is right you probably don't want to say it to anyone anyways._


	5. Alptraum

Gilbert felt panicked, though he couldn't remember why he was.

He also couldn't remember why he was running. His paws were flying across earth in a break neck pace. Trees rose up on either side of him, and the place felt familiar. It was a forest, but it seemed never-ending as he continued to run. He had to get somewhere. There was someone he needed to see.

The run seemed too long, yet he knew it was about to end. There was something ahead of him. He didn't slow, pushing forward to get to who it was ahead of him. When the figure came into view, it stood at attention as he approached; a large Doberman who took his job seriously. Gilbert's paws slid as he stopped next to the Doberman, his tongue hung from his mouth as he panted.

"Berlitz, they are coming."

The Doberman nodded. "Understood." He took large strides past Gilbert, his gaze steady in the direction the wolf had just come from. "I will hold them off."

Gilbert nodded. "Where are the others?"

The Doberman didn't turn, his attention focused on the unseen ahead of him. "Blackie is to the West. Aster is in the village."

"I will warn them. We need to evacuate." Gilbert turned away, and something felt wrong to him. "Alles Gute freund."

"And to you. Now go."

Gilbert was running again. The repetitive forest seemed to meld and blur but he hardly paid it any attention. He had a destination in mind and little would distract him from his goal. He barked several times as he ran, and reply barks echoed back to him. Small buildings appeared to replace the forest and there was a flutter of activity amongst them. In the midst of them all was a man with sandy-golden hair attempting to direct the masses around him. He normally would have a large friendly smile, but today his face was grave. Gilbert maneuvered his way through everyone to stand in front of the man on two legs. His breath was coming short but he managed to gasp between breaths.

"Where… is… Ludwig?"

The man pointed in another direction. "With Blackie, to the west."

Gilbert was moving again. The village faded from view as he ran off the path and through the trees. His progress was slower; he was too big to fit through some of the brush, yet pushed through what he could. He barked again, hearing a closer reply and adjusted his course to meet it. Soon he crashed into a small clearing meeting a large German shepherd that halted his own run.

"Ludwig?"

The shepherd tossed his head towards his back. "Here." Gilbert looked closer to see a small blonde clinging to the back of his friend. He couldn't see the boy's face since he had it hidden in the back of the shepherd.

"I'll take him from here. I want to talk to him. I'll meet up with you and Aster later."

The large shepherd nodded and Gilbert shifted as he stood next to the two of them.

"Ludwig?"

The blonde raised his head to see Gilbert standing next to him. He didn't smile, though Gilbert felt that the child was glad to see him. His eyes were ice blue and seemed harsh, but Gilbert wasn't put off by this. Instead he grinned and held out his hand to help the boy off the German shepherd's back. The blonde released his fist full of fur and slid off the large dog, climbing onto the back of the albino as they were left alone, the large shepherd bounding ahead through the trees.

The two turned towards the village, Gilbert setting a brisk pace while he carried the small boy. Things felt urgent to him, but he needed to say something to this boy. It was important.

"Ludwig…? West?" What he was about to say seemed difficult, the words were being forced. "Sorry we never found where you came from." The boy was silent, holding onto Gilbert's neck as he was carried through the woods. Gilbert knew he cared for him, but he couldn't seem to remember why.

"Things may happen, and you may not see me anymore." The words didn't make sense to him, why was he telling the boy this? Who was Ludwig to him? The boy became upset, clinging tighter to Gilbert, though he continued to be silent. "Yeah, you'll miss the awesome me, but you will be safe and that's what's important." He could feel Ludwig's head nod against his back.

All too soon they were back inside the village. There was still chaos, but it seemed they were being funneled away from the buildings. Gilbert carefully pulled the child from his back and set him on top of the large Dalmatian who calmly guiding those around her, her pup standing at attention beneath her paws. Gilbert took one last look at the icy blue eyes, then shook out his fur and gave the child a lick on his cheek. There were things to do, and the boy was safe with the motherly Dalmatian, Gilbert could sense it.

In the midst of everything, they could hear distant barking and growling. The golden retriever froze what he was doing, ears pricked in the direction of the noise. The barking and growling continued for a few minutes, followed by a loud yelp, and then silence. The retriever turned away, abandoning what he had been previously doing, to head towards where the sounds had been. Gilbert was quick to grab the retriever by the scruff the neck, though the large dog pulled against it.

"Berlitz!"

The German shepherd appeared in front, pushing his shoulder against the other to stop his forward momentum. "Aster, get a hold of yourself! You are more useful here."

"We can't leave him!" The retriever dug his paws into the ground, trying to get traction against his stronger friends.

Gilbert released the other's scruff to look him in the eyes. "Then I'll go. They trust you, lead them where we planned. I'll go get Berlitz and meet you there." The retriever whined, but eventually agreed. Gilbert raced away, though he felt that he may have just lied to them. There was a lot of noise ahead, and a scent that didn't belong. It was familiar, but it had no place here, that much Gilbert knew.

Gilbert growled lowly as he crashed through the trees and into the unsuspecting bodies beyond them. There were shouts, the repeated word "Aufhocker!" and the loading of rifles. What followed was flurry of snarls as he snapped at the forms; leaping, dodging and pouncing he danced around their attacks and struck them. He was out numbered, but he knew more depended on him and his ability to hold them back. The village. The other Hundes. West…

"G-Gilbert?"

The albino's eyes snapped open. He was panting, trembling slightly, and his heart was racing. Gilbert sat up, holding a hand to his head. The nightmare was fading quickly and he could barely recall what it was he had dreamt of. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, looking around as a reminder of where he was. The room looked familiar; everything was in its place.

"Gilbert?"

It was barely a whisper, yet he heard it clearly. His crimson eyes focused on the wide violet ones across the room. Birdie looked concerned, his gaze searching the albino with worry.

"Nightmare…" Gilbert mumbled, looking away. He should have known something like this would happen. He was more prone to twitching and talking in his sleep while in his wolf form. "Sorry to wake you."

Birdie seemed to think about it, his face still creased with concern. Gilbert couldn't look at the harpy, instead focusing on the floor and grumbling something incoherent. More sleep would do Gilbert some good, and he lay down tucking his arms beneath him. Birdie seemed to understand that they would not be discussing what had just happened and lay down as well. The small room was silent and Gilbert was feeling flustered, his nightmare as well as waking his roommate making him feel uneasy. It felt strange that he had woken when he did. The voice in his dream had held a musical element to it…

Gilbert sat upright once again. "You spoke!" Birdie sat up, meeting the shifter's shocked stare. He blushed, looking away and nodded. Gilbert grinned as he lay back down. "You have an awesome voice. You should use it more." He was sure Birdie was blushing further without having to look at his face. His harpy could be so cute sometimes.

Gilbert let out a content sigh as he settled himself to sleep once again. He made a mental note to spend less time with Antonio since he seemed to be rubbing off on him. For the remainder of the evening his dreams were filled with golden birds and a small blonde he longed to see.

* * *

_Aufhockers are the shape shifters of German folklore. They can be a variety of different animals and are said to use these forms to fill whatever duty they see fit. Their name means "to leap upon" because they are dangerous to humans, leaping on them and attacking their throats. _

_Alles Gute freund: Good luck friend._

_The title of the chapter is Alptraum which is German for nightmare. Also as an interesting side note, the first part of that word, Alp, is the name given to a creature that is a combination of vampire and incubus. It's male and sneaks into someone's room at night, often turning invisible due to a hat it wears giving it a comical appearance, and sits on the chest of an unsuspecting victim. The weight of the alp presses down on the person's chest and gives them nightmares (the female versions are called mares) or night terrors, and they usually end up drink the blood of their victim. They also don't seem to have a preference to gender. Why am telling you all this besides that I find it interesting? This is most likely the creature I would have assigned Prussia had I not made him a shifter in this story._

_I'd love to hear your thoughts on the chapter. What do you think of the dream sequence__? Who do you think Ludwig is? What do you think Ludwig is? And do you even think the dream sequence is true? And what do you all think of the shifters? Thanks everyone! x_


	6. Myths and Legends

_**AN: **Just in case: Hunde (Canine), Katzen (Feline), Bären (Bear), and Vögel (Bird)= the four shifter families._

* * *

_"Me? I belong to long line of beautiful predecessors by the same name. Technically, I am Pierre the 23__rd__."_

_"That's… um… interesting. But I hadn't really wanted to talk about your family history…"_

_"Non? Is there something else you would rather discuss?" He ran a hand through her short mint green hair that complemented her dark forest green eyes. The Vögel blushed at the contact, suddenly becoming aware that they were not alone in the room where they were to hold another meeting. No one paid them much mind, most still working their way in the door greeting others in the process._

_"Not here!" She hissed, glancing at a glaring Katzen with red eyes watching the pair from across the room._

_Pierre followed her eye line and frowned. "Fine, but how about later? We could get dinner together~"_

_"As long as it's nothing too fancy. I'm perfectly fine with fish and chips, you know."_

_The Vögel in white scoffed. "You've been living in that backwards country for far too long, mon lapin."_

_"It's not backwards…" She sniffed in reply._

_Gilbert watched the exchange lazily from his seat at the table. The man with white hair smiled and leaned closer to the woman to whisper something into her ear that made her blush and eye the clock on the wall. She then looked around the room, skipping over the Katzen hissing in her direction and led Pierre out._

_It was still a half hour till the meeting was set to begin, though it always seemed to be delayed as everyone was normally late to take their seats. Gilbert watched the minute hand of the clock for a few minutes and then picked up his cheep and rather terrible tasting coffee spilling a small amount on the table. He didn't want it anymore, anyways._

_"Hey, could you help me out?" His neighbor looked over, a Vögel with bright yellow hair whom he normally got along quite well with. "Could you go to the supply closet and get me something to clean this up?"_

_"Sure! No problem!" Gilbert sat back in his seat as he watched the Vögel leave the room, cleaning up the small spill with a napkin and waiting patiently for his friend's return. It only took a few minutes for the flushing blonde to slip back into the room and retake the seat next to Gilbert._

_"You knew they were in there, didn't you?"_

_Gilbert shrugged. "I couldn't have known for sure…"_

* * *

"Francis, my dear friend! It's great to see you!"

The harpy angled his flight course, making a sharp turn so that he landed next to Antonio rather than his intended destination in Gilbert's yard. He passed a critical eye up and down the shifter who was uncharacteristically happy this evening. Francis gave a questioning look to Antonio who shrugged in reply to the unasked question. "He's been like this all day."

"I see…" Francis peered through the fence at the albino. "Bonsoir, Gilbert. Have you had a nice day?"

"The best." Gilbert folded his hands behind the back of his head and reclined on the grassy yard to watch the sky. It wasn't necessarily the day that had caused his sudden bought of happiness, but the early morning hours when he had awoken to hear the first word spoken by his ever silent harpy. And it hadn't been any word; it had been the shifter's own name. The joy that filled him could hardly be contained.

With approximately a week since the blonde had been forced into his life, Gilbert had reawaken this morning and had practically skipped (in the most manly fashion possible, of course) to meet his keeper for breakfast. The man at the gate was shocked by the bright demeanor and cocky grin on the shifter that he froze in the process of handing the food through the hatch to stare with his mouth agape. Raising an eyebrow, Gilbert had to gain his attention and ask "You going to give that to me or what?"

Snapping from his trance, the keeper shook his head and blinked several times before handing the plate over. Gilbert grinned and thanked the man, heading quickly back to his room and ignoring the stunned keeper who carried on to meet an equally stunned minotaur to give him his food.

His harpy was just waking up when he brought breakfast in and placed it on the edge of the bed. "Guten morgen Birdie!" He called as he took his usual seat at his table and the harpy sat up to rub the last remnants of sleep from his eyes. "…Morning..." he replied softly, nearly too soft for the shifter to catch if it weren't for his increased hearing. Gilbert smiled further and he pushed food into his mouth. He was up to two words now.

Birdie said hardly anything for the remainder of the day, but that didn't dampen Gilbert's spirits. With the increase in his mood, he left the visitors to his pen alone, choosing instead to play in the grass rather than sneak up and surprise those at the fence. Any who lived within hearing range of the shifter pen were pleased to have a day without Gilbert's incessant barking and didn't question why it was quiet.

"What have you done today, mon ami?" Francis's blue eyes darted to Antonio pleading for help.

"He chased his own tail…" The green eyes showed their owners confusion at the idea of chasing one's own tail and Antonio looked towards his own with care where it lay next to him on the grass.

"And I caught it." Gilbert declared proudly. That was two things to make him pleased, though the second was fairly insignificant comparably.

"Félicitations…?" Stated the harpy and earning a lopsided smirk from the albino. Francis studied the harpy for another moment of silence. "Toni, do you suppose he's sick?"

"What?" came Gilbert's reply though it was ignored by the other two. Antonio pondered for a moment. "It's possible, si?"

A groan alerted them of what Gilbert thought of their conversation as shut his eyes in an attempt to ignore them. There was the sound of wings beating on the air and soft footfalls to accompany the presence that grew closer until it was nearly touching him. "Hmmm… Perhaps we should call the vet, Toni. He could be very sick."

"There is this thing called personal awesome space and you are standing in it." His red eyes opened to see Francis's blue ones centimeters from his own. Francis smiled, leaning back and declaring him well to Antonio who cheered in happiness to Gilbert's dismay. "I could have told you I was fine…" He grumbled sitting up.

"Francis!" Antonio called for the neighboring pen. "What happened today?"

"New arrival, mon cher." Even Gilbert looked attentively towards Francis awaiting him to continue. "Monaciello. And a rather cute one too." Gilbert rolled his eyes.

"What's he like?" Antonio asked eagerly.

"Spouted profanity for several hours until someone realized his favorite treat is tomatoes and threw a whole bushel in with him. He's quieted down now; eating his tomatoes and glaring at everyone."

Antonio sighed. "He can't be all bad if he likes tomatoes as well."

"And apparently girls. He has to be only cared for by the female keepers. Throws a fit whenever a male one gets near him."

Gilbert chuckled quietly. "Where was he before, Francis?"

"Another zoo that grew tired of him." Francis shrugged.

"But he likes tomatoes." Antonio mused. "And speaking of tomatoes, Francis? Por favor?"

"Of course, Toni, I shall find you some." The minotaur looked pleased to hear this and contentedly rested on the grass of his enclosure.

"Francis…" Gilbert started, the harpy turning his attention to the shifter. "Explain the kleptomania thing to me…" The question itself seemed sudden, though Gilbert's thoughts were not resting on the antics of the harpy in front of him. He had pondered over Birdie and his actions over the past week. Francis, being the shifter's only example of what a harpy was like, seemed different from the blonde in his room. He couldn't help but wonder in what ways his harpy was different from his friend… and in what ways he could be similar.

"Well… I see something I like and so I take it." Gilbert frowned at the simple explanation.

"I understand that. But why do you choose the things you do? Why food especially?"

Francis thought for a moment. "You know the story of why were created, non?" Gilbert raised an eyebrow and Antonio shook his head. "Fine, I shall give you the reason: Punishment. The Gods who formed us wanted to punish the humans using slow and torturous methods. And what could be better than removing the sustenance from a starving man's hand. We are inexplicably drawn to uncovered food, not necessarily to eat it, but simply to remove it. And to facilitate our purpose, we were given the great wings of birds to escape quickly with our prize." Francis folded his wings along his sides, pride showing on his face. "A harpy's purpose is to exact a God's vengeance on mankind."

Antonio's green eyes were wide in wonder, though Gilbert's gave an incredulous look. "Myths and legends, Francis, are not necessarily true."

"At yet, here we are discussing the how we exist in the first place. However we arrived, it is written into all of us that we need to take what is not ours. Even your little friend will have the same desires." Gilbert noted the blue eyes shift towards the back of his enclosure and then meet his own again.

"My kind was a form of punishment too, you know." Antonio cheerfully stated.

"I think you were more of an accident, Toni." Francis smirked at Antonio's deflated look. "Was there a reason for your sudden interest in our kind?" The knowing smile making it clear to whom Francis was referring to.

"Just wondering I suppose. And it's time to collect dinner anyways. Tschüss!" Gilbert called, making his leave and collecting the evening meal to join the harpy hidden from view. It wasn't that he didn't want to spend time with his friends, it was that he wanted more time alone with Birdie he thought to himself as he gave over the plate to the blonde.

Curiosity eventually got the best of him and he looked over the harpy poking things around his plate. Time to test how much of what Francis had said was true. "Hey Birdie." The violet eyes momentarily caused him to forget what he wanted to ask, but he quickly gathered his thoughts again. "Do you ever steal anything?"

The shock was evident on Birdie's face at being asked that. He looked away, a faint blush rising on his cheeks as he shook his head no.

"Oh, I see." How lame to just ask such a question outright, Gilbert chided himself. "Because it's not like it would be a big deal if you did. I was just curious. I had heard harpies stole food, is all." Unless Francis was wrong. Maybe this one was different. Gilbert focused on the plate in front of him and wished he had thought of a better way to ask.

They were both quiet for a long time, mostly because Gilbert's internal monologue was continuing to berate him for upsetting the harpy. Neither were paying any particular attention to the food in front of them at this point.

"Gilbert?" Said shifter raised his head to look at the gold harpy. His violet eyes focusing on everything else in the room but the other person in it. "…Yes…"

Several blinks later, Gilbert processed what the 'yes' meant. It meant Francis wasn't as crazy as he let on and had actually been right. Perhaps there was more to be learned from bronze harpy? Birdie's eyes continued to miss him and Gilbert could see the nervous way he shifted uncomfortably. "That's fine. And feel free to steal food from me anytime." He grinned wide, and the violet gaze finally met his own showing signs of relief.

"What sort of things do you like to steal? Is there something in particular you like?" Birdie was quiet again, and Gilbert was afraid he wouldn't answer him. There was no telling if he would be able to pry the information from the blonde. He had given up any hope of hearing a response when the reply came as a whisper.

"…Maple… Syrup…"

"Maple syrup? Never had it, but if that's what you want I know just the guy to get some for you." One side of the shifter's face pulled up to give a cocky grin. For all his confidence, he wasn't sure that he would be able to convince that person to help him, at least, not without a price.

* * *

_**AN: **Félicitations = Congratulations._

_And I'm sure you all know who the gossip was about:_

_Monaciello: Originates for the Naples areas of Southern Italy and is a short man that wears long monk robes and a brimmed hat (and I believe falls into the fairy category according to wiki). He navigates the underground tunnels of Naples and likes to visit the old palaces and be annoying in the form of stealing things (like bed sheets or clothing) or harassing housewives._

_Originally there was going to be a China creature here, but until I can open another webpage without laughing at how all the stories end with people describing how to cook and eat the mythical creatures, he's just going to have wait._

_The short version of the Harpy myth revolves around a man named Phineus, a king with foresight, who angers Zeus by revealing too much. Zeus confines him to an island puts a great feast out for him, but makes harpies to come and steal the food so that he can never eat._

_From what I have planned, there will probably be places for side stories if there's ever any interest in such things. And let me know if something is not making sense. I'm afraid of forgetting something._

_Thanks to all of you who have reviewed so far and extra thanks to spiritualnekohime4 and waveripple for venturing guesses as to what Ludwig is. Sorry, I won't tell you yet, so there's still time if anybody else wants to throw in some input. You're all amazing! :)_


	7. Price

_Gilbert rested contentedly against a large rock he had found along his patrol route. It was nearly midday and the warm sun was beating down unrelentingly though as luck would have it he had found a quiet shady place besides a small brook. After quenching his thirst from the clear waters he sat quietly watching the dancing shadows caused by the leaves of overhanging trees being caressed by the wind. The hushed rustle of foliage and the quiet murmur of the water lulled his mind towards unconsciousness. Surely a quick nap would not get him into too much trouble with the other Hundes…_

_His eyelids were hanging precariously low when the sound of someone brushing through the low branches and brush caused him to sit up and be instantly alert. His body stiffened as the unknown person approached and prepared to change shape at a moment's notice. His crimson eyes narrowed in concentration in the direction of the sounds. _

_The noises stopped just beyond the perimeter created by some of the thicker flora. Gilbert eyed the suspicious area, body tense, his breath stilling and his heart starting to beat more furiously inside his chest. He doesn't have long to await the other's first move as hands parted some of the branches and a pair of ice-cold eyes peer out from their shadows._

_"West! Scheiße! I could have killed you!" Gilbert growled at the small blonde boy as he detangled himself from the brush and crossed the remaining distance separating them. The boy never spoke a word, though Gilbert clearly read the disbelief from the other. "How can you not believe me? I am very dangerous. What sort of brother are you to doubt the awesome me?"_

_The blonde gave a very pointed expression and Gilbert frowned. "You are my brother. Who else takes care of you?" The boy frowned in response and looked away. "Awe, don't be like that. Want to join me?" With a nod the boy settled down next to the rock and his gaze watched the moving water intently._

_"So tell me, what are you doing this far out here?" Gilbert asks when the silence becomes too much for him. The boy shrugs though his eyes never waver from the surroundings. "Don't tell me. You just wanted to spend more time with me!" Gilbert laughs and grabs the small blonde in an attempted hug though the blonde tries to pry him off._

_"As awesome as it is to see you, you shouldn't be this far away from the village by yourself. It's safer for you there." The blonde gives him a look and Gilbert rolls his eyes. "Sure, sure. You're not alone since you are with me. I get it." The boy crosses his arms and glares at the stream and the image makes Gilbert grin and ruffle the boy's hair, much to his displeasure._

_Time passed and the sun was heading towards the horizon when Gilbert finally determined they should head home. He stretched as he stood, looking down at the little form beside him follow suit. "West, what were you really doing out here?" A response wasn't needed, Gilbert should have realized, considering where they were. The stream they had resided by connected to a larger river. The child looked away in the direction of the river. "Right…"_

_"Ludwig," Gilbert knelt beside the child and grasped his shoulders, "Look at me." Crimson met the cold blue stare of the small child. "We will figure it out. I know you don't remember, but maybe you will some day. I promise you that together we will find out what happened to you." Gilbert offered what seemed like one of his more cheesier grins and the blonde nodded silently. "Alright, climb on, bruder. Let's get home so Berlitz doesn't chew us out for being late to dinner." The blonde scowled before clambering on Gilbert's back. "Fine. Before Berlitz chews ME out." Ludwig took large fist full's of silver fur to keep from sliding off as the large wolf carried him back._

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"What?! Oh, come on! Please, just find me some syrup?!"

"Non."

Gilbert groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "Francis, you are being a schwanz."

The harpy crossed his wings over his chest from where he stood besides Antonio safely behind the fence separating him from the shifter. "I do not see why I should find you any."

Gilbert started, then narrowed his eyes throwing an angry finger towards Antonio happily snacking on pilfered tomatoes. "You went and stole something for him! Why won't you do the same for me?"

"He is much kinder to me." Francis ran a loving hand over the chestnut hair that sat between Antonio's horns. Gilbert could barely contain his fury.

"What would it even take for you to get me some?"

Francis placed a finger to his chin as he thought aloud. "Well, it would be a little harder to find. I cannot simply steal something like that from people's gardens. And if I can't find any around then I will have to go and barter for it. And that will all depend on if my favorite business associate has it or is willing to trade it for anything I can give to him…" A few more taps of his finger and his deep blue eyes looked into Gilbert's. "I think you should be able to do something for me."

"Name your price." Gilbert growled dangerously.

A lewd smirk formed on Francis's face. As he opened his mouth to speak, Gilbert cut him off. "Sex is off the table."

Francis pouted at the comment then tried again. "A kiss then."

"Nein."

"Then no maple syrup." He crossed his wings again, looking smugly towards the albino shifter.

Gilbert growled again and thought quickly. Apparently Francis was not going to give up as easily this time. That conniving harpy and his fascination to add 'shifter' to his little black book. There was no way Gilbert would ever go through with it. Syrup wasn't a necessity. He had managed years without it. Though, the large violet eyes that swam across his mind would probably enjoy having such an item…

"Fine!" Gilbert shouted, glaring at the ground. The two across from him froze, the harpy's eyes growing wider and Antonio pausing mid-chew. "But then you are going to get me as much maple syrup as I want." Francis recovered quickly, agreeing to the terms with a nod and spreading his wings to carry him over the fence.

"Mon ami, one kiss will have you wanting so much more." Gilbert grimaced at the devilish smirk on the approaching harpy. "I will simply collect my payment now so that you cannot back out of your end."

"I stick to my word." The shifter argued in return, however he would have considered it when Francis returned with goods in hand. The harpy didn't respond as he moved in closer and gently placed his lips against Gilbert's.

How long had it been since he had been close with anyone? Not since he had arrived at the zoo and had been placed in the pen he had seen every day since then. Those days had melded together for lack of distinctions between them and he was no longer sure exactly how long it had been. And the events leading up to his capture had left little room for intimacy. He would never admit it, nor could he deny it, that the lips working against his own were incredibly skilled and a longing ached from somewhere deep inside him.

"Enough." Gilbert roughly pushed the harpy back to escape his clutches. Disappointed at the early ending, but pleased none the less, Francis withdrew his wandering hands that Gilbert hoped no one besides Antonio had witnessed grope him. The minotaur had yet to move from his earlier position.

The evening continued as it always had, as though nothing different had changed. Gilbert hardly paid any attention to his gossiping friends. Tonight there was something going on between the hrimthur, the huldufólk, and the nisse. Seemed like the usual disputes between them. The hrimthur seemed to take pleasure from freezing the nisse into a block of ice without ever showing it on his face and would take care of the huldufólk though the creature always seemed to deny needing the attention. Gilbert sat until he grew tired of listening to them and left to collect dinner.

Birdie was sitting quietly on the bed when Gilbert walked into the room, and he glanced up at the shifter's arrival before looking away again. Without a word, Gilbert handed over the harpy's meal and took a seat at the same place he always had. He attempted conversation, but words seemed to die quickly with his distracted mind and Birdie refusing to answer anything.

The evening ended earlier than it usually did, and Gilbert mumbled a good night towards his companion as he went to curl up in his spot on the floor. Was he angry at Francis? Hell yeah he was. But other emotions were creeping into his mind alongside it, guilt being the most overpowering one and followed closely by reminder of how lonely living in these enclosed walls could make one feel.

Sleep did not come easy that night for either one of them.

* * *

_The German words here are curse words. I won't bother translating them. You can probably figure them out anyways._

_And now, the malicious harpy Francis's guide to creature gossip:_

_Hrmithur: was mentioned before, but a reminder that it's an ice giant from Norse lore._

_Huldufólk: Icelandic for hidden people. They are elves that live beneath rocks but are rarely ever seen by anyone though are known to speak to humans through dreams. Those that have seen them will describe them using words such as "glowing, light white, and attractive" (according to Wikipedia who I turn to when I have no idea what some of the creatures are). They also tend to dress in 19__th__ century clothing. How well loved are these things in Iceland? Enough so that even today they build small houses for them to live in, or little churches to convert them to Christendom, and will number rocks in neighborhoods that supposedly being lived in._

_Nisse: Or tomte as it is known in other parts of Scandinavia, share a few similarities with the brownie. These ones live on farms and if they are in a good mood will help out during the nights. Unless you anger them. Then they will get back at you which could be mean like hitting you, or just cruel and slaughter all of your livestock. And if they decide they no longer want to stay in your barn, they move on to another farm. In most of Scandinavia, he was what the image became for Santa being that they are often described as old bearded men. However, in Denmark, they are described as clean shaven men that wear red and grey wool clothes and a red cap. Oh, and even though they are pretty strong, they are a little short with glowing eyes, but some say they can change size. I think I kinda like that idea for him._

_I'd like to thank everyone for your amazing reviews! You're all wonderful :) And I hope I haven't completely alienated everyone with this update…  
_


	8. Gift

_AN: There's a part here for all of you who sent me the requests. (You'll know it when you see it.) I was just going to have some random fluff, but was convinced otherwise..._

* * *

_Gilbert was feeling excited today. His father had finally agreed to allow him to tag along to one of the annual shifter meetings. He had spent the better part of the year begging the man before his father gave in. They had to have a talk before they left their home about all of the important things to remember while traveling and attending such an important gathering._

_The small child racked his head of the list of things his father had told him to do. The biggest rule came to mind. Gilbert was to not under any circumstances take his wolf form. His father had stressed that one many times. The meeting was held in France this year and they would be taking a train from Germany to Paris. He was to remain in human form through the duration of it and not discuss any shifter matters with anyone where others could hear._

_Gilbert swung his legs a little while sitting on the bench. He had followed that rule very well. His mind had remained otherwise occupied by watching the passing scenery from the window of the train. He had never left home before and the changing landscapes were new and exciting._

_Alright, second rule, what was it? Gilbert thought for a moment. Oh, his father didn't want him interrupting any of the serious matters that were going to be discussed. That sounded particularly boring, Gilbert complained to himself. He was sure his opinions were plenty useful should anyone ask him._

_His father had left him to sit on the small bench outside of the meeting room. They had arrived early and his father wanted to meet with a few others to discuss matters that Gilbert wasn't privy to. He sighed in annoyance to being left alone without anything to do. He watched the people as they headed past him towards the room. They cast glances at him, some nodding in acknowledgement, others ignored him completely. He tried to imagine what type of shifter everyone was. His father had mentioned something about avoiding the Katzens…_

_A tall athletic woman approached him, the artificial lights glinting off of the many gold necklaces that were stacked around her neck. Her face was serious, but her tone light as she gazed down at the small child. "You must be the Beilschmidt boy."_

"_That I am!" Gilbert grinned proudly and she smiled a little at him._

"_You have a lot to live up to. Your father is very well known."_

"_Not a problem for me." Gilbert crossed his arms looking smug. "I am awesome."_

_The woman chuckled lightly. "Confident, are you? Let me see your true form."_

_The child hesitated, red eyes glancing towards the door that lead to the meeting room. "I'm not supposed to…"_

_She smiled again at him. "It is alright. Here, I will show you my own." Gilbert watched with wide eyes as the woman changed to stand on four paws as a large black pharaoh dog. She was quite tall and had a thin and sleek physique and her dark eyes looked down on the small child, waiting patiently._

_Gilbert leapt up, eager to show his as well. He shook out his silver fur as he looked up at the tall Hunde before him. Still being as young as he was, he was only a about the size of an average house dog and he didn't even reach to half way on her legs. He gave a large toothy grin. "I look pretty awesome, right?"_

_The pharaoh dog nodded. "Yes, young one. But you still have a long ways to go."_

"_I'm ready now. I can take on anyone. Those humans won't stand a chance against the likes of me."_

"_Is that so?" She said amusedly, easily knocking the pup over and pinning him beneath one of her paws. Gilbert narrowed his eyes from where he lay on his back and struggled to free himself. "I wasn't ready. Next time won't be so easy."_

_The pharaoh dog chuckled as a large blonde man strode into the hall looking for his son. As he spied the pair he frowned, quickly making his way over. "Gilbert, what did I say?"_

_The woman stood, releasing the young pup that quickly changed back looking guilty. "It was entirely my doing. I wanted to see how your boy was doing." The man looked unsure but nodded, glancing to his son who agreed quickly with the woman's words. "Has he started any of his training yet?"_

"_He hasn't formally started, but we can't keep him away from the training grounds. He loves to fight."_

_The woman looked amused. "I see." She looked down to the small albino at their feet and knelt to look in his eyes. "What is your name, young Beilschmidt?"_

"_Gilbert." The woman nodded, offering a hand to him which he took. Her darker skin made his pale skin seem that much lighter and his hand appeared tiny when compared to hers. The woman shook his hand firmly, her steady dark gaze holding his. "It has been a pleasure, Gilbert. I look forward to seeing what you become."_

* * *

"I think I should send him something. A token, perhaps. Just to welcome him to the zoo, you know? What do you think?"

There was a long pause where the other didn't answer, and Antonio frowned. "Gilbert?" Said shifter suddenly looked over at hearing his name. "I asked what you think."

"What do I think about what, Toni?"

Antonio smiled. "About sending a gift to the new zoo member? That monaciello that just moved in. He sounds very cute and we should all be kind and welcome to our home."

Gilbert gave a shrug. "If you want to, Toni. Though I think that's something to take up with Francis instead of me."

Antonio nodded absent-mindedly, his thoughts returning to the best way to welcome someone they knew hardly anything about. Gilbert paid little attention to the minotaur, his mind thinking over the previous day's events and the resentment he felt towards the harpy he had made a deal with. He could at the very least count on Antonio not paying too much attention towards the kiss, and no one else had brought it up, but it still sat in the back of his mind and held a bitter aftertaste in his memory.

But shouldn't he have been more repulsed by the thought than he was?

Gilbert shook his head and tried to pay more attention to Antonio who was still talking about gift ideas and seemed to have gone on a wild tangent concerning tomatoes. Just when he thought he could take no more, the source of his troubles gracefully arrived and landed carefully besides the shifter.

"You are in luck, mon ami. I have found you what you wanted." Francis held out a bottle and smiled widely. "I had to go to the fucanglong, but he did have it. And he was willing to trade once I exploited his fondness for something cute."

Gilbert stepped forward to close the gap between the two, grin spreading across his face. "Ah, danke Francis!" He held the bottle up, watching the amber liquid slowly slosh around the bottle.

"You know," Francis sidled closer. "You could thank me in another way…"

"Not going to happen." Gilbert stepped away, deciding he wanted to present his gift to Birdie as soon as possible rather than wait. Francis pouted behind the shifter's back but was distracted by Antonio calling him over to discuss welcome gifts.

It was difficult, but Gilbert managed to balance the bottle of syrup along with the plates of dinner as he crossed his yard. He paused at the door and stuck his head in to find the gold harpy sitting on the edge of the bed and his cocky grin grew wider. "Hey Birdie!" The blonde looked up and smiled softly. "I have a surprise for you. Close your eyes, alright?" Birdie thought this over for a moment and hesitantly closed his eyes.

The harpy grew tense as he heard Gilbert approach, but he remained where he was waiting for Gilbert's signal so that he could see once again. The shifter placed the food and the gift on the corner of the bed where it was normally found and retreated to his place across the room. "Open them, Birdie!"

The harpy's eyelids fluttered open and the smile that graced the other's face made Gilbert temporarily forget the means he had come to acquire the treat.

Gilbert grinned at how the harpy was quick to pick up the bottle and examine it carefully, turning it over in his feathered hands. The blonde whispered thanks as he turned to his dinner. "Glad you like it. Had a friend go and find it, and I wasn't really sure what it was-" The words died on the shifter's tongue as he watched the harpy overturn the bottle and drench the entirety of his plate in the sticky substance. Gilbert couldn't be sure, but that shouldn't be normal. Still the harpy seemed pleased and happily ate through his meal despite the confused red eyes watching his every move.

"Is this… uh… normal for harpies?" Birdie let his head tilt to the side to show his confusion while he continued to munch on the food. "The thing with the syrup? Do you all like it… in this quantity?" The harpy gave a shrug as he continued eating and Gilbert settled for simply watching the other finish all the dinner he had been given rather than simply pick at it. He was pleased at the response to the syrup, but one thought crossed the shifter's mind as he looked with dismay to the bottle missing a significant portion of its contents.

They were going to need a whole lot more maple syrup.

* * *

_AN: Danke is Thanks in German._

_Fucanglong: The Chinese treasure dragon. Like the rest of them, they are long and serpent like and fly without wings. These ones live in the underworld and collect both natural and man-made treasures. Also you may see one when they burst up from the ground and create volcanoes._

_I hope I am some how managing to keep you all interested. I feel like this chapter's kinda... blah..._

_But thank you all for following and favoriting and reviewing!_


	9. Minotaurs

_AN: Sorry about being away! Here's a reminder: Hunde (Dog), Katzen (Cat), Bären (Bear), and Vögel (Bird)._

* * *

_"What about a strike? They always work in my country." Pierre offered when the discussions reached a standstill. "A strike would make them reconsider their plans for legislation."_

_His companion shook her head, the mint green hair tossing back and forth around her face. "I don't think there are enough supporters for such a thing yet. If you ask me-"_

_"Fucking limey." The red-eyed Katzen hissed from further down the table. No one was particularly shocked by his words. It seemed like they were the only thing he was ever able to say._

_"Your words, as well as your form, are both equally revolting." Pierre stuck his nose up at the other, earning a hiss directed specifically at him before the Katzen returned to playing games on his phone._

_A Hunde with short white hair looked contemplative. "It's true that we do not have supporters…"_

_The Hunde woman next to him patted his arm. "I think what Pochi means is that we need a way to persuade more people to our cause."_

_Gilbert rolled his eyes and leaned over to the neighbor. "Really? Are the pet names necessary?"_

_The blonde Vögel whispered back, "I've heard a rumor that's really what his name is."_

_Gilbert's eyebrows rose towards his hairline and the Vögel nodded slowly. "Oh! I know! We should hold a party! With food!" Everyone's attention was directed to a rather cheerful Katzen with a small curl. "Everyone likes a party and then everyone will side with us!"_

_A Hungarian Hunde snorted at the suggestion. "It is our sworn duty to remain as inconspicuous as possible unless, apparently, you are an Italian Katzen. Then you will hold a party to announce to the world who you are."_

_The Katzen's eyes narrowed and he let out a low hiss, all traces of friendliness vanishing. "Don't be rude, Ioan." A similar looking brunette Katzen sitting next to him also growled in the direction of the Hunde._

_"There's really no need to fight, aru." An Asian Bären spoke up, elbowing her dozing brother. He woke with a snort and his sister glared at him. "I think it is possible for us all to work together to determine the best possible solution, aru. We just need to stop fighting." She eyed her brother next to her. "You agree with me, right, aru?"_

_"I'd rather we go home…" he sighed in reply, much to her displeasure._

_"What do you suggest?" The Vögel seated next to Pierre asked._

_The Bären thought for a moment. "We are still missing a number of members. Let's send messengers to the others, aru, and we will all think of a reasonable solution." A few of the others nodded in agreement._

_"I have dibs on the Bären in Canada!" The bright blonde Vögel next to Gilbert suddenly exclaimed, leaping out of his seat in the process. A dark blush began to cover his features as he realized the number of stares he was receiving from everyone in the room. He gave an awkward laugh. "That is, if I may."_

_Pierre rolled his eyes. "Of course. Not a soul here would think to try and take that one from you."_

_"Awesome." He sat down happily, attempting to ignore Gilbert's sly grin._

_"I think that's a good idea, but it would probably be best if we schedule another meeting in the near future." The Hunde next to Pochi remarked, gaining the approval of many of the others at the idea._

_The Bären nodded. "I think we should adjourn for now but meet again in say, a week's time, aru?" There were mutters of agreement before everyone started to pack up their things to leave. Gilbert watched amused as his neighbor began to hurriedly gather items, his excitement clear._

_"Hey, I know you are in a hurry to go see your freund, but mind if I see you out?" Gilbert asked._

_The Vögel paused, thinking through the offer. "So long as you don't slow me down. And you take care of my documents for me." He gathered the remaining items and standing quickly._

_Gilbert followed the quickly moving Vögel as they wove their way past the others meandering much more slowly towards the conference room door. When they were free of the mingling crowd, the pair made a sharp turn to the stairwell and began to take them up towards the roof of the building. No longer surrounded by the others, Gilbert turned to his friend with a laugh. "You are eager to get there."_

_His friend blushed slightly. "It's just that, I'm not able to see him that much, so I'll take any chance I can get." At the top of the stairs they opened the door that gave roof access of the building. A light breeze rustled their hair and clothing as Gilbert was handed a stack of documents. "If I am off quickly, I should be in Canada in several hours."_

_"Then I won't keep you." He gave a mischievous wink to the Vögel. "Have fun with your freund."_

_The blonde blushed once again. "See you in a week." He turned away, but not before looking over his shoulder to add, "And try not to get into trouble." Gilbert watched as his friend morphed into his alternative form, a large bright yellow bird covered in many downy feathers giving him a very fluffy appearance. The bird raised his wings and quickly took off, angling his flight course accordingly and disappearing rapidly into the thick clouds that lined the sky. Gilbert offered a quick wave before his friend vanished on his journey and took a moment to himself, alone on the rooftop._

_He was about to turn back inside when there was a great commotion from beyond the door that lead to the stairs. He stood back as the noises neared and the metal door was thrown open with a crash. Two blurs raced past Gilbert and he watched the two shapes, one white the other mint green, as they rose away from the building, wings beating at a rapid pace. Another pursued the pair, nearly catching them before they were able to clear the building, but being forced to stop when they were airborne._

_Gilbert frowned at the Katzen left standing on the roof. His form was similar to a large sphinx cat, hairless and grey skinned, and he fixed Gilbert with his large bright red eyes. With the Katzen's ears pinned back, he looked truly alien in appearance._

_"I'm sure Pierre deserved it, but you should really take it easy on that other one." The Katzen hissed in response, pacing slowly towards the stairs, the eyes never leaving Gilbert and tail twitching in anger. Gilbert waited several minutes after the other had left to exit the roof behind him._

* * *

Birdie contentedly followed Gilbert outside of the shifter's room for a little fresh air and exercise. He stretched his wings as far as they were able, and Gilbert noted with some satisfaction that although the edges were still chopped and uneven, there was evidence of the feathers' regrowth. The shifter smiled at the happy look on the harpy's face as he tilted his chin towards the warm sunlight.

The maple syrup gift seemed to have worked its charms, and Birdie appeared brighter and happier, back to speaking terms with the shifter once again. The day following the trade with Francis, Gilbert had returned to him the empty bottle, feeling smug as he gazed upon the harpy's shocked face. Apparently even one of his own kind didn't expect the gold harpy to have such a sweet tooth.

Francis returned later that night with several more bottles and complaints of having to wait with the Dokkaebi while the items were brought to him. Gilbert felt little sympathy for his friend having to listen to the creature's claims that all things originated in his home country, and had gladly brought the syrup in while Antonio had attempted to gain attention asking how his welcome gift was received.

"¡Buenos dias!" A cheerful Antonio waved from the fence, calling Gilbert and his friend over to him. Birdie folded his wings carefully so they rested at his sides and followed behind the albino shifter to greet Antonio. "Your friend is out again today?" Antonio asked, smile wide.

Birdie nodded faintly while Gilbert answered. "We are out before the visitor's arrive." He gave a small shrug.

"You should come out later and meet Francis! He would like to meet someone as cute as you." Antonio replied, missing the scowl that Gilbert wore.

"What… are you?" Birdie quietly asked. Although Gilbert could hear the harpy's question, Antonio missed it, instead tilting his head in confusion and looking to the shifter for help.

"He asked you what you were, Toni." Gilbert repeated, causing Antonio to instantly brighten. The shifter glanced to Birdie. "Now he'll tell you his whole life story."

"If you would like to know what I am, I will tell you. Un minotauro, one of man and bull. Descending from the first mighty minotaur whose story is an unfortunate tale." He paused, his green eyes searching the pair in front of him. "Would you like to hear it?"

Gilbert looked to Birdie who shrugged. "Sure Toni, but don't draw it out."

"¡Magnifico!" Antonio cheered. "The story begins with the first minotaur's father, a great and mighty bull. The cruelest of gods presented him to a powerful king and ordered the king to kill the bull and present him as a sacrifice to the terrible god. But, the king looked at the bull and was taken in by his beauty and so spared his life, instead hiding him inside the palace and attempting to fool the god by sacrificing another animal."

Gilbert stole a glance to his harpy, amused that he was paying rapt attention to the tale. Antonio sighed dramatically as he continued. "But unfortunately the god was not fooled and conspired with the queen against both the king and the bull. The wicked queen tricked the bull into mating with her by using a terrible disguise, and the child born of them was the first minotaur.

"When the king saw the child, he became very angry, blaming the bull for what had happened. The bull was killed before he was even able to see his offspring, and the minotaur was locked into the dungeons. And the wicked queen? She continued to live in the palace alongside her treacherous husband.

"It is a terrible fate to have to live somewhere where there is no sunlight, and the minotaur spent many years living in the palace dungeons, steadily growing more and more angry and miserable. He was fed very little, and eventually the king began to send other prisoners in the hopes that one of them would kill the wretched creature, but instead the poor minotaur defeated them whilst he was defending himself. We are very strong, you see, so their deaths were most likely an accident. And with so little food, he resorted to having to eat the remains of those who had fought him."

Antonio was oblivious to Birdie suddenly paling and Gilbert's silent pleas to not linger on the topic of what the minotaur ate. "Eventually a clever human arrived to the kingdom and the king once again ordered him to enter the dungeons and kill the minotaur, but when the man arrived he found the pitiful creature begging for help. The man felt sorry for him, and concocted a plan of escape. They killed a bull and a human and formed a false minotaur to present to the king. When the king saw the dead minotaur, he threw a large celebration, and in the midst of the festivities, while most were full of wine, the man snuck the minotaur to a small ship allowing him to escape the kingdom he had known his entire life and start anew elsewhere.

"Since then, minotaurs have found ways to survive through the years." Antonio finished, looking happily at the pair.

"Danke Toni, but it looks like we should start getting ready." Gilbert looked to the gate where breakfast was awaiting them and Antonio nodded in understanding, wishing them farewell. As they crossed the yard together, Gilbert turned to the harpy. "What did you think of the story?"

Birdie thought for a moment before replying. "Is it… true?"

"Could be, though I have heard a different version of it." Birdie looked expectantly at Gilbert who smirked. "In that one, it was a shifter that went and rescued the minotaur from the Isle of Crete."

* * *

_Probably not as well known, but couldn't just leave him out:_

_Dokkaebi- Korean sprite or goblin, normally harmless but can be mischievous. Can either challenge people to ssireum (Korean wrestling) or have the ability to summon any item that it wants. Unfortunately, they cannot create items, so what they're really doing is stealing the item from somewhere else and making it appear in front of them.  
_

_And the retelling of the Greek Myth of Theseus and the Minotaur. Because I'm weird...  
_

_Thank everyone who reads and reviews and follows! And thanks to my mysterious guest reviewer(s?) whoever you are for checking my translations and leaving nice comments :)_


	10. Differences

_Gilbert stayed crouched low from where he was hidden in the brush outside the small house that he had watched for the past ten minutes. It was a simple one story house with a large garden that surrounded it. Washing hung from a line behind it that flapped gently in the small breeze that had been taken into account when Gilbert approached the home. The scent of baking wafted to him as well as the smell of his target. He studied the window that lead to the kitchen finally catching a glimpse of her as she walked by it._

_Without making a sound, Gilbert began his stealthy approach to the house. His lips pulled back into a wolfy grin as he stepped over the flower bed and positioned himself beneath the window. Phase one was complete, now he just needed to slide himself through the window without her noticing and-_

_"Gilbert, I hope you didn't destroy any of my flowers."_

_The large silver wolf looked up in surprise to the meet the disapproving brown gaze of the woman regarding him over her window sill. He quickly changed back and laughed, albeit a bit awkwardly. "I guess you caught me."_

_The woman rolled her eyes and ducked her head back inside her home. "When you are done crawling around in the dirt you can come inside and join me." Her voiced echoed back to him from within and he quickly accepted the invitation, leaping to his feet and forcing himself through the open window. The woman looked on as the albino managed to crawl his way through the small space and she huffed as he landed in a heap on her previously spotless floor. "I have a front door, you know."_

_Gilbert stood and brushed some of the loose dirt away, letting his grin pull more to one side. "That way was faster."_

_With a sigh she shook her head at his antics and resumed her previous activities. Gilbert took a seat at her small kitchen table and watched as she busied herself with preparing a meal. They were silent for a while until he spoke up. "Ileana…"_

_The woman glared at him. "I thought I told you I prefer to be called Heléna." When he looked at her with a blank expression, she frowned. "Heléna is my Hungarian name. I hate being called by the Romanian one." She looked him over again. "Why are you here?"_

_"What? Don't like my awesome presence?" His smiled faded as hers looked sad. He looked at her solemnly and with as much seriousness as he could muster in that moment. "With everything that's been happening, I figured I should probably see you one last time." He paused, occupying himself by scratching a nail across the wooden surface of her table. "You know… end things so we can focus on everything else."_

_Heléna nodded vaguely and focused on what she laid out on the counter. They were quiet once again, though not for nearly as long. "It's for the best." He narrowed his eyes when spoke, not looking up from the table. "The war is looking pretty grim."_

_"If it wasn't for those ätzend humans…"He rolled back in his chair, glaring out the window at the invisible invading human army. _

_She giggled slightly while looking at him over her shoulder. "It's a bit strange to hear you say something like that."_

_He flushed a little. "Well, they're not all the same. But, you know, them in general and for starting this mess." Gilbert stretched his arms above his head and then let them hang behind chair. "How has everything been with you lately?"_

_"Fine, we are making plans for extra security measures with our village." She whispered the next line so quietly that Gilbert nearly missed what she had said. "You can't be too safe…"_

_He stood and approached her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "What happened in France won't happen here. That was a fluke, or something. Everything will be alright."_

_Heléna shook her head. "It's not just what happened in France. Everything has been strange. The disappearances are becoming more and more frequent. I'm never sure if we will see everyone at the next meeting or not. And all the innocent creatures?" Her voice caught a little and she tried to steady herself on the counter. Gilbert rubbed her shoulder, hoping that the soothing circles would ease her pain. After a moment she looked up at him, her eyes misty. "I have this bad feeling that something terrible is about to happen."_

_He froze as he looked at her. Her premonitions were normally spot on, and he began to hope against hope that there was a first time for them to be wrong. "That's why you are taking precautions with your village." His grin twitched and he was sure it looked terribly faked. "You'll pull through this. You always do."_

_She smiled softly back at him and cleared her throat. "How's everything with your village?"_

_Gilbert sighed a little. "Berlitz has got me under his paw. He's really too strict sometimes. Luckily Aster tends to save me from him."_

_Heléna laughed. "That's because of all the trouble you cause him. I'd hate to have you as a part of my pack." With a more serious tone she asked "How is your brother doing?"_

_"West?" Gilbert brightened. "Awesome as usual since he's learning from me."_

_She smiled despite shaking her head, then settled as her smile faded. "Has he remembered anything yet?"_

_He focused on what her hands were doing, watching the hypnotic motions as she stirred something together. "Still nothing."_

_"Don't worry about it too much. He has you and that's all that matters." Heléna smiled at him encouragingly and turned back to her bowl. "You think you can handle the friends without the benefits?"_

_He gave laugh. "Isn't that my line? Won't you be missing my awesome self?"_

_"No." Gilbert's face fell and he looked at her in shock._

_"Not even a little?"_

_"Gilbert I will see you next week at the meeting. Now go home and take care of Ludwig or I will call Berlitz myself."_

_With a look of fear at the devious glint in her eye, Gilbert backed away slowly. "Are you sure you're not a Katzen pretending to be a Hunde?"_

_"Go home, Gilbert. And go through the door this time." She offered a small wave as he left quickly, changing shape as soon as he was clear of her home and bounding through the thick forest towards his own domicile. With the spare time, he considered what she had mentioned. Heléna was right; the incident in France was terrible and not something to be taken lightly, but they lived in the forests on the other side of Europe. He just hoped everything would quiet down soon and things would return to normal._

_A week passed quickly and before Gilbert knew it he was seated in the conference room for another emergency meeting. The doors closed and the speakers called for order among the gossiping members. Gilbert's red eyes quickly scanned the room of gathered shifters, expecting a pair of brown eyes to meet his and silently order him to pay better attention, but they seemed to be missing from the room._

_Approximately two minutes later, Gilbert found out why._

* * *

Gilbert studied the harpy in front on him carefully, his eyes scanning the fresh bruise. "Francis, did you go and visit your brownie friend again?"

Antonio immediately darkened, but Francis shook his head. "Non, I was watching the Nix." The harpy sighed as he thought of the creature. "His music is delightful, he has a real talent and he isn't entirely terrible to look at either."

"That guy again?" Gilbert asked, scoffing a little as Antonio quietly returned to his usual cheerful self. "Why would you want to be anywhere nears a prick like that?"

"For the reasons I have already stated, mon ami." Francis preened a few of his feathers from where he rested besides Antonio. "The music that he can create is beautiful. It ebbs and flows like the river he lives in and the grandeur of the notes as they form the harmonies tells of love and life and will move even the more hardened of souls." He paused, looking at the blank stares he was receiving from his friends. With a sigh, he tried to explain it once again. "In terms even you would understand, even unrefined men such as yourselves would appreciate listening to it."

Gilbert shrugged. "It's not really my style. I like something with a little more excitement to it."

Francis snorted and muttered something in French in reply. Antonio quirked his head as he looked to the harpy next to him. "Then how did you receive the bruise, amigo? Did the nix do this to you?"

"Wait! Let me guess." Gilbert grinned wide. "It was the Vadleány next to him. Am I right?" He laughed loudly as Francis hesitantly admitted to it. "Sat too close to her pen?"

"As it would seem," Francis explained, "one should not take up audience on the fence that separates the two of them." Gilbert only laughed louder.

Antonio smiled sympathetically. "It would seem her threats hold some merit then?"

"They do." Francis miserably muttered. "When that woman says to stay away, she means it." He waited for Gilbert to quiet down before asking him, "How is your friend? He hasn't used up all of the syrup I brought him yet, has he?" The harpy winced while he waited for an answer, memories of listening to claims that all things originated in Korea making him worried.

"Don't worry, you don't have to make another trip yet." Gilbert reassured him, making the harpy relax in relief. He thought for a moment about his harpy's strange habit then asked, "Francis, is it strange that he likes that much syrup? I mean, " Gilbert glanced back at his room, expecting to see a golden form standing there, "He pours it on everything."

Francis raised an eyebrow. "I am partial to sweets, but non, that is not the norm for harpies."

"I see..." Gilbert sat back thinking through everything. "Is there a possibility he is not like you in... other ways as well?"

Francis threw a playful wink. "That I cannot say, but don't worry. As you are my dear friend I will take care of any of your needs."

"No you won't." Gilbert frowned at the direction of the conversation, and stood up leaving the harpy and minotaur alone to chat quietly. At least he had the option to escape to seclusion where he wouldn't need to worry about being groped when his back was turned. And the smiling face that greeted him when he walked in was just the thing to raise his darkened spirits. He presented dinner and watched in amusement as Birdie coated his plate in sticky syrup. The harpy was cute as his violet eyes lit up while he ate and seemed nothing at all like Francis. It was difficult for him to imagine that harpy doing any of the lewd things Francis was known to try, but a part of him wondered what that would be like and if he would actually refuse them.

Gilbert quickly shook his head try to rid himself of the imagines that had suddenly arisen in his mind before he found himself in a difficult position. Birdie was watching him with his head tilted to the side in confusion. "Something wrong?" the gold harpy asked quietly.

Gilbert poked something on his plate as he sifted through the right words. "Just having difficulties with someone else. Nothing I can't handle."

Bright focused eyes watched the shifter carefully. "Difficulties?"

"Uh yeah..." Gilbert's red gaze meandered around the room. "Someone being more forward than I would like." He ran a hand through his messy hair with a sigh. "Have no real way to get them to back off though."

The albino let his mind drift off into space while he thought but was pulled from it by a soft reply. "Me?"

Gilbert blinked several times. "What? Can you speak harpy and make him back off?"

Birdie looked at him with a mixture of confusion and shock. "What?"

"Yeah, some sort of secret harpy code. 'Back off, this guy doesn't want you on him' type of message would work." When Birdie didn't reply, Gilbert tried again. "Or 'I like you only as a friend?' also might go through that guy's thick head." He studied the dumbfounded look on the harpy's face, unsure what part didn't seem to make sense to him. "Is there no secret harpy language?"

"No..." Gilbert felt slightly disappointed. I mean, a language of bird calls and chirps would have been interesting. "Why is he..?"

"Oh, uh, Francis?" Gilbert thought for a moment. "He's always been like this as far as I know. But lately..." The shifter couldn't stop the grimace that appeared on his face. "... He's been even more determined. Wants to use deals to get what he can have with anyone else in this zoo. And I agreed to one so now he acts like I'm going to come crawling back to him."

Birdie seemed to take it all in, and pondered it carefully. "Why would you...?"

"You needed something and I got it for you." Gilbert answered quickly. Was it just him, or had it suddenly gotten much warmer out? "Not a big deal for the awesome me taking care you. It's what a shifter does." He shrugged, but felt he couldn't look back at the harpy. "Anyways, I think I'm going to call it a night." He said quickly, curling up on the floor and missing the small smile that appeared on the other's face.

* * *

_And so, easily the two hardest countries to search for (go to your favourite search engine and enter 'Austrian Mythical Creatures' and most everything will want to bring up Australian ones instead):_

_Nix: Actually German not specifically Austrian (please forgive me! ).They are a type of river creature like a merman that uses songs to lure people to drown in their waters (like the Greek Sirens). They can also supposedly take on a more human form, but they tend to have some sort of feature that identifies them (like slit ears or the hems of their clothes being wet)._

_Vadleány: Hungarian forest sprite (name means 'Forest Girl') that is fairly elusive but can seduce people and sap their strength. Can be caught if you leave her one boot because she will try to stick both feet in it at the same time._

_I'd also like to thank everyone for reading and sending me reviews. I love reading everything you all send me and I'm glad that everyone seems to like this story! :)  
_


	11. Firsts

_Gilbert stared at the wall feeling particularly frustrated. Gott how he hated waiting and there was a decent chance that they were taking their time in trying to place him somewhere. He had worked hard for the past several years to train and there was little doubt that he was among one of the best fighters of his peers, even if the actual written class work was lacking. So what was taking them so long?_

_Maybe the demerits? Nah, there was no way those would be hindering his awesome ability. The pranks he had pulled were hilarious and shouldn't have counted against him in this. Okay, so maybe he didn't follow directions exactly and occasionally talked back, but those were just signs of his character. He relaxed back in his seat feeling confident. They were going to give him something that was the best assignment in the history of assignments._

_He was still waiting when another young shifter walked into the room. His hair was a bright blonde shade, nearly yellow and his eyes a warm dark color as they nervously scanned the waiting space. Gilbert watched the blonde with interest as he made his way over to him and joined him on the bench. "Are you here for assignment too?"_

_Gilbert scanned the cheerful face in an attempt to decipher who this person was and if it was possible that they might be competing for similar positions. "Ja. You?"_

_The blonde nodded vigorously and his eyes became a bit dreamy. "I hope I end up an internationalen Kurier. I'd like to see more of the world."_

_Gilbert smiled a bit more friendly as he slouched out of his stiffened state. "So you're a_ _Vögel then?"_

_The blonde nodded again. "What about you?"_

_"Hunde." Gilbert smirked feeling particularly proud. "And I'll be a Kämpfer, the best one ever."_

_The Vögel tilted his head to the side. "But we're not at war right now. I don't think that they are looking for any to fill those positions."_

_"They should make an exception for me." They fell silent, Gilbert deciding to watch the wall again, and the blonde Vögel watching his feet as the swung beneath his seat._

_The blonde took a breath and gave the albino a friendly smile. "I'm Gilbert by the way."_

_The Hunde shook his head. "I can't call you that."_

_The blonde's face melted and he looked at Gilbert with a mixture of sadness and confusion. "What? Why not?"_

_"Because I'm Gilbert," he said, turning back to his newly acquired friend, "and I can't just let you go around being called the same thing." He paused as he sat back and folded his arms. "Everyone would be confused."_

_The blonde frowned. "Then, why me? Maybe you shouldn't be Gilbert."_

_"That's easy. I'm much too awesome to change my name. So I'll just have to call you something different." He scrunched his face as he thought. "How about… Oh, I know. Gilbird."_

_The blonde looked ill. "Gilbird? Really? What sort of name is that?"_

_"The one I gave you and you are now stuck with." Gilbert stuck out his tongue._

_"Well… Can't I be named something better?" The blonde tried again._

_"Nope." Gilbert grinned, clearly pleased with himself. Gilbird seemed to resign himself to the fate of being referred to by such a nickname, even if he wasn't entirely pleased with it. They talked to pass the time, mostly about non important things, until someone appeared and called, "Gilbert Beilschmidt."_

_"Good luck." Gilbird whispered as Gilbert stood and smiled confidently. He strode forward, a cocky smile and his red eyes glinting. The woman who called him nodded and led him down the hallway towards the borrowed conference room the shifters were using this time and pushed open the door allowing him to enter. Along the long conference table sat the board that made the decisions on placements, but they weren't the ones that interested the albino Hunde. His eyes immediately locked on the three men that sat across from them._

_A blonde smiled as he entered his hair a shaggy array of golden sand and his eyes bright. Another with thick deep black hair had a much more thoughtful expression, regarding Gilbert with interest as he inspected the youth in front of him. And between the two of them sat the strictest man Gilbert had ever seen in his life. Shorter with broad shoulders, the brunette seemed to frown further upon his arrival._

_"Gilbert, the decision has been made that you will be assigned under Berlitz in the Wald district. You will report to him and follow his direction." The head of the board swept his hand in the general direction of the men and Gilbert looked them and back._

_"Wald? One of the middle of nowhere districts? Sounds un-awesome." Gilbert complained, working his face into the most pleading look he could muster. "Can't you send me somewhere with some action?"_

_"Hey!" The blonde faked offense. "How boring do you think we are?"_

_The brunette frowned further. "Are you always going to be this difficult?"_

_The black haired man grinned as he looked at the muscled man. "Well, if he doesn't think he can keep up with us…"_

_"Oh, I can keep up." Gilbert challenged, his red eyes narrowed at the trio. "And I can prove that I am more awesome than any of you."_

_"Great , then it's settled." The board leader quickly wrote something down on a sheet of paper and added it to a stack. "He's all yours, Berlitz."_

_The trio stood and left out the door, and Gilbert frowned but followed behind them. They passed Gilbird who was still waiting outside, but the albino was too frustrated to take note as the stalked along behind the adults. Several minutes later, they were outside and heading towards a car parked along the street. Gilbert found himself sitting in the backseat with the blonde while the brunette drove and he crossed his arms over his chest._

_"Right, introductions!" The blonde stated cheerfully, smiling widely at the teen. "So you've probably figured out that the grumpy man there is Berlitz. Don't mind him too much. It's not you; he's just always like this." To this the brunette grumbled and his hands clenched a bit tighter to the wheel. "And I'm known as Aster."_

_Gilbert nodded as his eyes shifted to the third man who had turned around in his seat to look at him. "My name is Maximilian, though everyone calls me Blackie."_

_"Why?" Gilbert asked, and Blackie snickered as he faced forward once again._

_"That is a long and very strange tale that we will tell you another time." Aster supplied. "For now though we will tell you all about our protection details. Ours is one of the busiest villages and we could use the extra hands at keeping hunters away."_

_"Rule number one," Berlitz growled from the driver's seat, "You will follow my every order without question."_

_Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Yes sir."_

* * *

Lunch looked particularly bland today, and Gilbert sighed as he looked over the plain meal. Nutrition his arsch, what would it take to get some normal food that wasn't some concoction of ingredients designed to fill him and provide all of his essential vitamins? There was no helping what he was given every day, but it did take any joy out of eating. And his only other source of better food he had delivering maple syrup. Gilbert grimaced at the thought of trying to ask Francis for another favor, sure that he would push himself upon him more than before.

He could hold out until Birdie left, when Francis would be more willing if he didn't have to make trips to the zoo's biggest trader. The thought of Birdie leaving suddenly brought an ache to his chest. Things would be quiet once again without a gold harpy to look after. No, Gilbert thought fiercely, frowning against the notion, Birdie needed to leave, needed to escape. He couldn't care for him forever.

Reaffirming his mission, he walked briskly inside. "Birdie, I have lu-"

The harpy looked up at him expectantly from where he was sitting, but it was the where that had Gilbert stopped short. The blonde had taken up the seat opposite of the one normally occupied by the shifter during meal times at his small table.

Gilbert was still frozen and Birdie gave a small smile. "Should we eat?"

The albino shook his head as he pulled himself together. "Yeah, of course." He pushed the plate forward as he sat down, watching the feathered hands pour a generous helping of syrup over his meal. The shifter's heart was pounding furiously inside of his chest as he watched. The blonde was easily within arm's reach and seemed to be comfortably eating his meal, not caring that this was the closest he had been to his shifter guardian since the day he had been pushed into the enclosure. "How's your food?"

Birdie chewed thoughtfully. "It is alright. Yours?"

"Bland as always." Gilbert responded, pushing things around plate to put off having to put it in his mouth. "Actually this isn't the worst I've ever had. Had British food once and let me tell you I will not be making that mistake twice."

The harpy sat still and stared at his plate for a while, his eyes shifting to the bottle next to him and then meeting Gilbert's gaze. "Would you like some?"

"Syrup?" Gilbert tilted his head, "Is it good? I've never had it."

Birdie eased the bottle across the table so that it rested closer to the albino shifter. "Try some." He encouraged with a small smile.

Gilbert carefully picked up the bottle and inspected the amber liquid with suspicion. The violet eyes watch his every move and he figured a small taste wouldn't hurt him if it pleased the blonde across from him. There was no way he would coat his plate like the harpy did.

He gingerly unscrewed the cap, and allowed a small pool to drizzle out on the side of lunch. He took a deep breath, hoping that whatever facial expression he made wouldn't upset his harpy should he absolutely hate the taste, and pulled a sliver of food across it and popped the whole thing in his mouth.

At least Birdie wouldn't have to worry about Gilbert thinking his tastes were strange, instead he now have to worry about the shifter stealing his supply. He couldn't help the large smile that beamed when Gilbert pronounced the sticky substance not only edible, but extremely delicious, savoring the sweet taste that hung in his mouth.

That night, Gilbert dropped his request for more syrup on Francis somewhere between the bronze harpy's tales of the latest of interesting curse words the Monaciello had used on him when he attempted to deliver more tomatoes and the intriguing news that the Strigoi was developing a new charm for the next full moon. Francis grumbled and complained for a while eventually conceding that it would be done and returning his attention to discussing the behavior of a certain angry creature with Antonio.

* * *

_Translations first:_

_internationalen Kurier: International Courier_

_Kämpfer: Warrior/Fighter_

_Wald: Forest_

_Alright, only a brief mention this chapter:_

_Strigoi: One of the several types of Romanian vampires, this is the one known as the immortal vampire. Technically speaking, this one is a strigoi viu or living strigoi and has more sorcerer like properties (as opposed to the strigoi mort (dead) ones that wander into your home and drain out your life force). Possible abilities for a strigoi include ability to turn into an animal, turn invisible, and drain your blood. Oh, and interestingly enough, among the ways one can become one are being the seventh child of the same sex in one family and being a redhead._

_And just in case you were confused who the blonde Vögel was... ;) Thank you again all those who are following this story!_


	12. A New Name

_Darkness. There only ever seemed to be continual darkness._

_When he had first awoken in this small metal box Gilbert felt groggy and disoriented. He had kept still, resting his face against the cool surface trying to not let nausea overcome him while he put pieces of a fragmented puzzle back together. Where had been before, and what was he doing? He had been on patrol when he realized a human army was approaching. He had run to warn the others, but was stopped when he was flanked and surprised by another group who had managed to mask their scent from his sensitive nose. Trying to figure out how they had done it was making his head hurt and he had to close his eyes to keep the pounding behind them to a minimum._

_The last thing he remembered was fighting the humans in the forest. As he replayed the fight in his mind, he recalled feeling pain in his hind leg. Probably some human managing to get a knife or bullet into him when he wasn't looking. He reached a hand to the spot and gingerly pressed against it. Even with the lightest touch he winced when his fingers brushed against it. There had to be a decent bruise there for sure, but with the lack of light, there was no way for Gilbert to check it properly._

_This of course did not answer the most pressing question: where was he now? He could tell that the box was moving, but beyond that he knew nothing. There was a loud rumble of an engine, so he was probably inside the trailer of a large truck. How long had he been out? Depending on that answer he could be anywhere, but what was worse was he tried to think of where he might be going._

_There were rumors, there were always rumors, of what happened when a shifter was captured. Being among the rarest of species to collect, young shifters were often told horror stories of the captured in order to scare them witless. Though these were normally told around fires during training and would then become the source of entertainment to sneak up on your friends in the dark and say you were a human that was going to get them. However, it wasn't as if these stories were forgotten when you reached adult hood. No, it was then that it was whispered to be true and headed as warnings to all. If you were caught, your captors could torment you by keeping you as a pet, cut you open to see how you worked, or would kill you to place your pelt on their walls._

_Gilbert shivered involuntarily. The more he thought about it, the more adrenaline began to rush through him and his heart raced. What lay in wait for him at the end of this journey? And was he alone? He tried to listen, but he couldn't make out any other sounds of life nearby. Scheiße, that meant he was the only thing they were transporting. Calm down, calm down. Gilbert's head pounded again and he tried to focus on only breathing from where he lay on his belly. Being the only one here could be a good thing. It could mean that they hadn't managed to capture anyone else in the village because they had all managed to escape. Or were killed, his morbid mind tried to remind him._

_With a sudden jolt, the vehicle carrying Gilbert stopped and the engine was cut off. His hold body tensed at that. Had they arrived, or was this just a pit stop on the way? The answer was given to him shortly with the screeching sound of the large doors opening and rays of light pouring into his box through small holes he hadn't noticed were there._

_"Didn't have any problems with him on the way." A voice said and he could suddenly smell the presence of humans everywhere. "Hasn't had any food or water, like you said."_

_There was a loud scraping sound of metal on metal and the box began to move. "It's for the best really. Standard procedure is to fill them so full of drugs that they're docile while they're moved. Poor guy won't be able to keep anything down until the sedatives work their way out of his system."_

_Gilbert bit back a growl. They had used a tranquilizer on him back in the forest. Figures. "He's been pretty quiet. Are you sure he's-"_

_"Don't get too close!" Someone shouted, "Even if he's been quiet does not mean it's safe enough for you to get too close. Heard of a guy once who lost a hand to a felid shifter doing what were going to do." Gilbert smirked a little at that. Temperamental Katzens would always make sure you understood they were displeased with the situation._

_This journey was much shorter and soon the box stopped moving once again and there were loud sounds of grating and clanging metal. Gilbert scuttled towards the back of the box, on all fours and staring intently towards the end all of the sounds were coming from. The box was large enough for him in his human form, but his wolf body was much too large to squeeze into such a tight space. This meant he would have to wait until he left the container in order to change, and that could be risky. He had no idea what it was they were planning for him, but there was no way he was just going to walk quietly out and let them dissect him._

_With a final clang, the end of the box slid open and Gilbert braced for an attack that didn't come. There didn't look there was anything beyond the open door, and he was less ferocious devoid of teeth and claws and so thinking through his available options decided it was best to use the element of surprise in unfamiliar surroundings. As quickly as he could he lunged forward, clearing the opening of the box and landing on the ground on his paws, ears pinned back flat against his skull and his lips curled to reveal glistening teeth._

_In the split second it took Gilbert to arrive in this position did he realize there was no one in front of him. It was an open field with a few scattered trees. His crimson eyes searched everything in front of him, but it was the nervous laughter from behind him that signaled another presence. Whipping around he found the source of the laughter to be a group of a dozen or so humans standing behind a large fence. "See?" One turned to his neighbor who was staring in wide-eyed shock, "That's why you shouldn't get close to their crates. Even if you think they are drugged."_

_Gilbert let out a low menacing growl that caused a few of the group to take a step back. Whatever their plans were, it wasn't going to work. This fence? Child's play for someone like him. And he might take a few humans out when he got to them. He sprung forward only to hit the wire fence and yelp in pain from the voltage flowing through it and fall back. While he recovered he did note that he had succeeded in making most of the group jump back in alarm._

_Some seemed to grow tired of gawking at him and moved on to their other duties, and Gilbert slunk down the fence looking for possible weaknesses in the wall that separated him from freedom. He had already made it half way around when more voices could be heard. Figuring them to be another group of gathered humans, he crept closer hoping they might shed some light on his current circumstances._

_"Francis, look! I have a neighbor now!" A bright and cheery voice stated._

_"I see that. I have never been with a shifter before…" Another purred._

_Gilbert's eyes followed the sound to find two creatures standing behind the fence. The brunette he assumed to be a minotaur if the set of large horns nestled amongst his thick chestnut locks were any indication, and judging by the amount of feathers on the blonde, he was most likely a harpy. Living creatures was a good place to start, and he bounded quickly to meet them at the fence. Quickly changing form he tried to ignore the spacey and lewd looks he was receiving from them. "You have 30 seconds to tell me everything I need to know about what's going on."_

_The brunette blinked several times, still looking fairly lost as to what was happening. The blonde smirked as his gaze wandered up and down the shifter's form. "Why so hurried? Someone like you should learn to relax and luckily for you, I can teach you such things."_

_Gilbert could barely contain a growl, having to bite his lip to keep himself in check. "I need to know where we are and what's happening. Tell me now!"_

_The brunette tilted his head, his sparkling green eyes trained on the shifter. "You are in a zoo."_

_Gilbert could barely breathe. "What? A zoo? A zoo where?"_

_"Does it matter where?" The blonde spoke up, still looking Gilbert up and down. "You won't be seeing anything beyond this fence. But," The harpy began to twirl a small strand of his hair and smiling in a way that suggested he was planning something, "I would be happy to find you anything that you need. Be it food, drink… pleasure~"_

_"What I need is a way out here!" Gilbert screamed, not understanding why these two were not helping him concoct a plan._

_The blonde shook his head. "There is no way out of here. No one has left of their own free will. You are either transferred or they take your body out."_

_Gilbert's eyes grew wide as panic started to take over. His breath came shorter and the two behind the fence were shocked by the sudden feral look that the albino wore. With a roar, he was once again a large silver wolf and tangled in the fence that divided them causing the harpy to shriek and flutter backwards with frenzied wings and shed feathers and the minotaur to suddenly take a defensive stance between them with a loud snort and growl. Gilbert paid them no mind as he continued to throw himself at every available inch of the enclosure, yelping in pain each time but trying it once again hoping that this was the time it would work._

_There was a long time of unrest for the residents of the zoo with continual noises being made from the shifter pen. It did, however, all end on night with a mourningful howl that echoed across the park, reaching the farthest corners and full of longing. All heard it that night; a brownie set aside his tea with a trembling hand hoping a harpy would visit him to take his mind off of the haunting effects, kaschey looked thoughtful and drummed his fingers against his knee while he wondered, and a fucanglong curled tighter around his accumulated treasures wishing they would bring him comfort from the sudden chill he felt._

* * *

"I had a lovely visit today with the rokurokubi..." Francis hummed from where his sprawled in the grass besides Gilbert.

The shifter lifted his head from where he too was spread out to see the blonde. "And what were you doing?"

"Just talking, I assure you." Francis commented, closing his eyes. "Seems he is illustrating some of my various exploits, with a few liberties here and there."

"I might be interested in seeing some of them." Antonio added from just beyond the fence. "Actually, ask him if he could draw me something of the monaciello while you are at it."

"Are you still going on about the thing?" Gilbert huffed. "Why are you so obsessed?"

Antonio shrugged. "He sounds cute.

"I can assure you he is cute." Francis gave a playful wink. "And I would love to have a feel of that adorable little body~"

A sudden scream made Gilbert and Francis sit up and look around, finding Antonio glaring menacingly through the wire, with green eyes filled with anger. "You will leave him alone."

Francis held up his wings in surrender, trying to smile lightly. "Toni, I didn't mean anything by it."

"You will leave him alone." Antonio repeated and the harpy gave a mute nod.

Gilbert didn't like the dangerous way Antonio's eyes were flashing and he decided to take charge of the situation before things became out of hand. "Toni, you need to go and calm down. And Francis," he gave the harpy a stern look, "maybe you should go visit someone else tonight." Both nodded, leaving in opposite directions, though not without muttering a few curses on both their parts and Gilbert heaved a sigh once they were out of hearing range.

Birdie was waiting for him when he walked in, his light violet eyes darting outside anxiously. "Is everything okay?"

Gilbert gave a tired nod. "Yes, the usual quarrels that happen between the three of us, though Toni is rarely so protective." He and the harpy took their seats at the table and dug into their meal while Gilbert filled the blonde in on what had happened earlier, with plenty of reassurances that everything would be fine. Birdie nodded through the entire thing, his attention never wavering from the shifter's tale.

Gilbert looked over the harpy in front of him and watched the way he seemed so much more at ease. He wished the harpy would spend more time outdoors, but could only assume that was because he was still unsure about the number of people who passed by the fence. The blonde was probably not used to see so many together, though that depended on where he was originally from, or what had happened to him previously. There were so many things he had yet to learn about the harpy in front of him and he suddenly paled when he realized he overlooked the most important of things to learn about someone new, especially now that Birdie was talking to him.

Birdie tilted his head to the side when Gilbert suddenly started looking uneasy. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm awesome." Gilbert tried to recover, though was mentally slapping himself for being so insensitive. Birdie probably hated him for not asking sooner and how could he upset such a beautiful creature? He started mentally slapping himself a second time, but for a different reason.

Trying to get a hold of himself, and suddenly aware that the harpy's eyes were fixed on him, he tried to bridge the uncomfortable subject. "So, I was wondering…" Gilbert suddenly paused. Did he just ask outright, or try to come up with a much more tactful approach.

His response took so long that Birdie's eyes flickered to the side and returned to the albino's face. "What were you wondering?"

Gilbert shifted a little in his seat. "I was wondering…" Well, it wasn't like he had much tact when it came to these things anyway. "I was wondering what your real name was." He said in a rush, feeling much more uncomfortable as the harpy pulled back in surprise.

The blonde blinked several times and Gilbert couldn't manage to meet his gaze. How could he have let this happen? Some guardian he was. "Look, I'm sorry about not asking again sooner, it was just you hadn't said anything before and I gave you that nickname and it stuck…" He rambled, feeling worse with each growing minute.

The blonde looked down at his plate, a small smile forming on his face. "It's Matthew."

"Matthew?" Gilbert felt slightly relieved. "I can call you that from now on."

Matthew played with his plate, smile still formed on his face, as kept his eyes trained on the table. "If you want… you could still call me Birdie…" His eyes flickered up to look through his lashes at the albino, and Gilbert was sure his mind momentarily blanked at the sight.

"I can… I can do that." He managed out and the harpy lifted his head, a large, happy grin lighting up his face.

So help him, Gilbert needed better willpower against these charms.

* * *

_Rokurokubi: Japanese (because I finally made myself go through the enormous list of different spirits and creatures), they look normal by day, but at night their necks stretch out. Normally this is something used to scare people (I know I would be…), but sometimes they just use it because they can't help but spy on people._

_Thank you for your reviews as always!_


	13. The Things That Change

_It was the quiet shuffling of feet that alerted Gilbert to the added presence in the room, but he kept his eyes closed and his breathing even, hoping it was enough to fool that person into thinking he was still asleep. If it worked, they apparently didn't care and the next think Gilbert knew his blanket had been torn off him and he was fully exposed to the cold early morning air._

_"Ack! What the hell, West!" he screeched jumping and twisting around to face cold icy blue stare of Ludwig."Couldn't you poke me or something like what everyone else does?"_

_Ludwig frowned, and Gilbert could easily read the expression telling him that this was the quickest way at getting the albino to rise. Gilbert cursed into his pillow and could feel Ludwig watching him quietly for a minute before poking his head._

_Gilbert tried to swat the hand away with a growl. "Look West, I know I said you should poke me to get me awake, but now isn't the time to start that…"_

_"You're late." Ludwig informed him, still poking his finger against the others head._

_It took a full minute for Gilbert to register what the child had said before his head snapped up and stared wide-eyed at the blonde. "What time is it?"_

_"Almost 8." Ludwig informed matter-of-factly. Gilbert cursed again, much louder this time now that it wasn't muffled, and leapt out of his bed with a run towards the door, snatching the cleanest clothing he could find on the way. Within seconds he had donned a shirt and pair of trousers and was racing upstairs with Ludwig a few steps behind._

_The albino skidded to a stop as he rounded the corner and found himself in the presence of his already assembled elders. Berlitz frowned in disapproval and gave a curt nod towards one of the chairs, indicating soundlessly the depths of his current anger and Gilbert decided it would be best to follow orders today. Aster grinned at the blonde that stepped into the room a moment later. "Danke, Ludwig! You can help yourself to Gilbert's share of breakfast!"_

_Gilbert balked as the blonde nodded and shuffled away leaving the shifters alone together. "How is that fair?"_

_Aster waggled a finger, wide grin still in place. "Shouldn't have overslept!"_

_Gilbert folded his arms and grumbled at that, slouching down in his chair and attempting to ignore the empty feeling in his stomach that he would have to endure for a few more hours."Which one of you told him to rip the blanket off me?"_

_Blackie slowly raised a hand while simultaneously trying to hide a cheeky smile behind his coffee mug. The albino stared for several moments in utter disbelief. "So the traitor presents himself…" He mumbled, causing the other two to snicker._

_"If you ladies are finished chatting…" Berlitz frowned, making the group quickly sit at attention, "we have serious business to attend to." He carefully unfurled a large map on the table and placed a few weighted objects on the corners. "I have come to the decision regarding the latest attacks that it would be wise to find an alternative location for the village should something happen to the current one." He ran a hand over the paper, pointing to several circles. "I have chosen a few possible locations that might be suitable, but we would need to scout out the areas beforehand."_

_"What of evacuation plans?" Blackie asked, leaning closer to study the detailed map with interest. "We've stayed in the shadows, so it could prove difficult to gain their trust at a moment's notice."_

_Berlitz gave a slow nod. "It may be best to start earning their trust now."_

_There was absolute silence around the table with that. "What are you suggesting?" Gilbert suddenly shouted causing the other Hundes to look at him._

_"I'm suggesting," Berlitz growled slowly, "that we make our presence known to the creatures in the village."_

_"I got that, but…" Gilbert searched around for the right words, "Isn't that breaking several shifter codes of honor all at the same time?"_

_"Times have changed." Blackie stated, placing his coffee down and looking seriously at Gilbert. "For survival, we must always adapt."_

_"Just as a thought," Aster added quickly, directing his gaze up at Berlitz, "Have you mentioned any of this to the rest of the Society?"_

_The large leader gave a curt nod. "They have approved of everything and have suggested sending another Hunde to assist in the transition. She should be arriving in another week." He leaned back in his chair as he looked around the room. "We will be the ones to test this approach. If all goes well, they may have the others do the same."_

_"Isn't this all a bit drastic?" Gilbert stared at the eldest Hunde, "There's only been a few attacks-"_

_"Few?!" Bertliz snarled making Gilbert pull back._

_"Berlitz…" Aster warned, watching the brunette shifter with an intense stare._

_"Weren't you friends with someone from the village located in Hungary?" Blackie directed at Gilbert, lifting one eyebrow in question and making the albino squirm a bit in his seat._

_"Yes, but…"_

_"Because that one was not far from our borders." Blackie continued, his tone harsh and reprimanding. "Add in the others: France, China, and now Russia and you realize that this more of a problem than anything we have seen before in our history. We are calling this a war for a reason; there was nothing left to any of those villages."_

_Gilbert slumped from the unnecessary lecture and refused to speak. Berlitz cleared his throat to regain some order to his meeting and to divvy up the tasks between them all. Gilbert soundless accepted to go and check on two the circled locations and awaited Berlitz to dismiss them all from the room. It was nearly midday and he followed the memorized path to the kitchen to fill his grumbling belly. Ludwig looked up as he walked in from where the boy was sat at the counter with a book open in front of him. The child could probably sense his mood, but still Gilbert tried to smile and act as though nothing was wrong. "What are you up to, West?"_

_Ludwig shrugged towards his book and the albino peered over his shoulder to see the equations written on the page. "Math today?" The blonde nodded and looked away from his schoolwork to fix Gilbert with a stare and making the elder feel as though he was being placed under a microscope. He was saved from further examination when his stomach make a loud sound and Gilbert laughed weakly. "I think it's time for lunch." He announced and quickly spun away to pull open the door to the fridge. "I don't suppose you are hungry though," he peered over the door at the blonde, "especially since you had two helpings of breakfast."_

_The blonde frowned and pointed to the fridge. "Look on the shelf."_

_Gilbert did as he was told and was surprised to find a covered plate awaiting him and he carefully lifted the wrapping, pleased to find his entire breakfast beneath it. He turned back to the blonde in shock, only to find that Ludwig had returned to studying his book. Pushing the door closed with his foot he made his way to the microwave and unable to stop the large grin that grew on his face. "Danke, West!"_

_The blonde simply nodded and continued to read, but there was a slight curve to his lips that was indicative of a smile._

* * *

Gilbert continued to stare straight ahead from where he was sat in the grass fighting his greatest adversary: time. Patience should be key to this exercise, but Gilbert never seemed to have been graced with that particular feature. It was how he had found himself where he was, eyeing the prize that was just out of reach for him: several large bright red apples. He could feel his eyes narrow as he thought bitterly how they may as well have been left outside the fencing of his pen and handed them over later instead of encasing them in a large block of ice.

A large crash accompanied a resounding roar and Gilbert didn't even need to look up to know Antonio was solving his dilemma using brute force. He did look up, however, because of the squawk and flapping of feathers that followed the noise belonged to Birdie and worried the harpy might be panicking. He gave a short whistle to gain the other's attention and jerked his head to the ground beside him and watched as the harpy nervously made his way over and huddled on the ground beside him. The blonde's wide lavender eyes never left the neighboring pen.

"What's happening?" he whispered as the Spanish minotaur hefted his own large ice block above his head and set it flying towards a boulder sticking partially out of the ground. The harpy flinched at the large sound it made as it echoed back to them.

"The humans call it enrichment." Gilbert informed him, looking away from his own form of torture and meeting Matthew's gaze. "Toni's has tomatoes inside. That's the reason he's so anxious to get into it."

"Is that what this is?" Birdie asked, nodding towards the slowly melting ice.

The albino gave a small nod. "It's supposed to be mentally stimulating. Like a toy to play with."

The harpy stared at him and then at the ice while the pair attempted to ignore the noise emanating from just beyond the fence. "Then…. Why aren't you playing?"

"It's demeaning." Gilbert grimaced and tensed slightly. "And it's a reminder of what they think of everyone here. That they equate us all to animals."

Matthew fidgeted with a few blades of grass, jumping when there was another crash. "If it's so terrible, why hasn't anyone like Francis left?"

"Don't take this the wrong way," Gilbert growled, "but harpies were one of the first to willingly put themselves here. It's why they don't bother doing anything to him because they know he won't go far. All he ever does is fly around to the different pens to flirt with everything that moves." He narrowed his eyes further and clenched his fists in anger.

The blonde was silent as he studied the shifter, carefully eyeing his posture. "You don't like him?"

"That's not it either." Gilbert sighed leaning back to look at the sky. "I don't hate him, but I cannot help but feel angry at him. And Antonio too for that matter." He spat out, glaring briefly at the distant minotaur. "They want to be in here; they actually prefer it to living outside. They don't mind being enclosed in fencing so long as they get three meals and don't have to work." Gilbert thought about it for a moment before adding, "Actually, Toni might just be happy with where ever he is at the time, but that's beside the point."

"So…." Matthew started slowly, "You want me to leave? When I'm able to fly again, that is."

Gilbert was quiet for a lot longer than he knew he should have been. It took him far too long to answer in his own mind. "It's my job to protect you, which means making sure you are living your life to the fullest." He finally answered, turning his head to the side to watch the harpy's reaction. "You can't do that stuck in here with me."

Maybe it was just his imagination, but the harpy almost seemed a bit disappointed by his answer, and the albino looked away to watch the ice melt. It was boring, but gave him time to think through his feelings; mostly to remind himself that what he was feeling would pass given a week or so after the harpy's departure. It was unlikely they would keep in touch afterwards, not unless Birdie wanted to be caught a second time. But a part of him was trying to hold onto the hope that he would visit.

Another loud crash, the sound of something breaking and Spanish cheers flowed across the grass and Gilbert shook his head. "The tomatoes are still going to be too hard to eat." Birdie tilted his head to peer past the shifter and observe the minotaur sitting on the ground nuzzling his still frozen treat. "Do you put syrup on apples?"

The blonde shook his head. "Peanut butter."

Gilbert lifted an eyebrow at this but didn't say anything more. It shouldn't have surprised him how strange he found the other's sense of taste. "When these things are free you can help yourself to them. It looks like they gave me more this time, so a few of these are probably for you."

"Will Francis still visit if you fought?" The blonde asked after it had grown silent once again.

Gilbert snorted. "He'll be back. No matter what happens, we always try to laugh it off later. We actually have to as a necessity. That's the thing with living here; You can't choose who your friends are. Not really anyway." His lips peeled back into a large grin as he turned to look at his harpy. "Just you wait. That Schlampe will be here."

True to his word, Gilbert spent the evening lying on the grass near Antonio's fence, listening to the French harpy spill the latest tales of the sphinx, karakoncolos and satyr. Antonio hung on every word, memorizing the latest arguments between the two that the sphinx shared with the harpy during his visit. It was almost as though the argument from the previous evening hadn't existed at all and Gilbert was sure he could feel the lavender eyes watching him from the shadows of his room while he laughed along with the two others.

* * *

_AN: So very many apologies for disappearing for a while._

Francis's guide to all things creature related:

Sphinx: I'm assuming all of you know about this one, but just to keep it straight, this sphinx is the Egyptian version (the Greek version being the like the one from Harry Potter). Still part human and part lion, except the Egyptian versions are male instead of Greek female (which works for Gupta I suppose). Also, rather than being malicious monsters that will eat you if you don't answer a riddle, these are said to be benevolent temple guardians.

_Karakoncolos: A bit of a mouthful, but is a creature from Turkey that looks a bit like a Sasquatch. It's temperament can range anywhere harmless but troublesome to down right evil. It said it can appear during the coldest nights and can either stop travelers by asking then tons of questions (to which you have to answer them all with the word 'kara' which means black) or they may imitate the voices of loved ones and lure people out into the cold where they may freeze to death._

_Satyr: Another creature you probably have heard of before, but sticking with the ancient Greek version rather than the version that later became known as the Roman Faun. These means that he has a goat or horse tail, pointed goat ears and possible a goat phallus (the little beardy-bit). They are also a little more connected to nature and better able to defend than their faun counterparts, but they do still love wine, women, and as Wikipedia puts it "ready for every physical pleasure."_

_And I shall leave you something to think about: What does the Satyr think of the Sphinx? Just a thought! Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed!_


End file.
